The Mafia Mistress
by rayne 24
Summary: "Finally she was mine and I relished in the feeling. No longer did I have to fear the what if's or maybe's. She belonged to no one else except me and until the day I breathe my last, she will be all I needed. My Mafia Queen." AH/OOC. NO UNDER 18's PLEASE
1. The Prologue

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Prologue.**

"Tell me Bella. Tell me you don't want this!" I pleaded as I pinned her body to the wall of her room.

"I can't," she replied pulling me closer to her body as she began to place open mouthed kisses from my chin to my ear.

"Why can't you? Free me from you, you evil minx." I growled as she bit into my neck.

"No." She whispered into my ear. "You're mine just like I am yours. Your mafia padrona" She purred and that was all it took for me to finally, after months of desiring her and wanting her, for me to make her mine.


	2. The Beginning

**The Mafia Mistress.**

**Chapter One: The Beginning**

**Carlisle's POV.**

_**The father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, "Daddy, I need to ask you something," he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan. ~Garrison Keillor**_

We had already taken up positions in the room. The tension in the room was almost suffocating. My wife, Esme, sat next to me, gently caressing my arm. Jasper was standing; having position himself strategically at the door whiles his wife and my only daughter and youngest child, Mary Alice was seated in front of him. Emmett, the younger of my two sons and greatly loved middle child, was seated; cradling his wife, Rosalie to his chest as he whispered quietly into her ear. There was no doubt in my mind that at this moment he was doing nothing but comforting her and giving her the reassurance that she needed.

With that thought my eyes flickered over to the man who stood silently in the backgrounds with a look of pure concern and distress as he looked at the shaking form of his only daughter. Jonathon Hale was the father of Rosalie Lillian Hale Cullen, husband to the deceased Carolina Hale and friend and ally to the Cullen Mafia family. Jonathon and I were both so similar. We were feared, admired, hated, loved, poisoned and lethal. We stood above the fray of the petty wars of street corner gangs like gods, untouchable by the law and as the true patriarchs of all that is evil in the world. We were dons- men of stature; men of wealth and power. But above all the drugs, guns and blood shed, we were fathers. Our daughters meant more to us than our own lives and even though our sons were loved and protected; the love we had for our daughters made them untouchable.

"Carlisle?" Esme whispered into my ear, "Talk to me, please?"

"It's nothing my dear. Nothing at all." I whispered back as I turned to look my eyes with the woman who I had called my wife for the last twelve years. Never once I have I regretted my marriage to Esme or the events that led to the marriage.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when someone knocked on the door. Without a sound Jasper turned and opened the door then stepped back to reveal my eldest child and the newest Don in the Cullen Mafia family.

"Edward." I said as I stood.

"Father." Edward responded as he made his way over to where Esme and I sat, stopping along the way to greet his siblings and their spouses.

When he reached us, he bowed his head slightly in a sign of respect towards me before I pulled my son into a hug. No matter how old he was or how many he killed, he would always be my son first.

As soon as I released him, he kneeled down onto the floor in front of Esme before burying his head into her stomach as she cradled him to her.

"Edward, baby. My baby boy." She cooed as she gently ran her fingers through his hair. It never matter that biological Edward was not Esme's son. In all the ways that mattered, she was his mother and he was her son. "Where is your wife son?"

"Tanya? I thought she was here already. Damn that woman! She is probably spending exceeding amounts of our money then." Edward replied heatedly causing Esme and me to chuckle. It was only a matter of time before he ended their marriage. Of that I was sure

"As much as I would like to see and allow this moment to continue, we have business to attend to." Jonathon said softly with a small smile on his face.

"Of course," Edward said with a sigh as he rose and took the seat opposite to where his mother and I were seated. Jonathon had chosen to occupy a seat next to his daughter.

"Edward son, what we are about to tell you has been a secret that has haunted the Hale family as well has our own for the past six years. _This incident_," I spat out with as much venom as possible, "occurred when you were training in Ghana. The reason for me telling you this now is because you simply need to know now that you are a Don." I said looking my son straight in the eyes.

"Alright. Say what you need to say but please do not beat around the bush." He said with a sigh as he leaned back into his chair.

"Edward, have you ever wondered why the war between the King family and our family ignited?" I asked as I took a sip from the scotch that was next to me on the coffee table.

"Honestly, I never wondered why. I always knew it was my duty to protect this family so I just do. No questions asked." He said with a slight frown of his brow probably wondering were this was going.

"Well there was a reason son and today I am going to share it with you. Now everybody in this room already knows what happened save for you because they were all here when it occurred."

"As I already said, it happened six years ago, three days before Rosalie's eighteenth birthday. She was walking home after some party planning with Alice even though she knew it was not permitted. She was about a block away from her home when she stumbled upon two men. They dirty and wore tattered clothing so she thought that they were probably homeless and thought nothing of it so she continued on her way home. That was until one of them grabbed her and pulled her into an alley. He proceeded to throw her onto the floor and then clamped his hand over her mouth. It was only then that he pulled of his hoodie and Rosalie was able to see that her attacker was none other than Royce King III. We all know that Royce is infatuated with Rosalie. When she realized what was about to happen, she started to fight. At one point she able to free herself and screamed out. It was only then that Royce's friend joined in."

"Who was the friend?' Edward asked quietly, his eyes locked on Rosalie who had been reduced to tears and was sobbing mercilessly into Emmett's arms.

"Demetri Polokansi." Jonathon answered before I had the chance.

"The Russian?" He asked pulling his gaze away from Rosalie.

"Yes." I said in short answer. "May I continue?"

I waited until he nodded before continuing.

"As I was saying it was only when Rosalie had screamed out did Demetri join the fight. He proceeded to hold Rosalie down while Royce attempted to remove her clothing."

Suddenly the glass that Edward was holding shattered from the force he exerted on the harmless object causing all of the women in the room to jump.

"I apologize," He said in a monotone voice as he shook his hand to remove any lingering piece of glass and then proceeded to wrap his bleeding hand in his handkerchief and motioned for me to continue.

"Thankfully, when she screamed out, there was a man near by and he heard. The man's name was Charles Swan and he was the Chief of Police and small town called Forks. He had come to Chicago for his daughter's graduation but I am straying."

"When Charles heard Rosalie scream, he drew his weapon, told his daughter to get into the car and call the police. As soon as he entered to alleyway, he shoot and killed Demetri, no questions asked. Royce, unfortunately was armed and returned the favor by shooting Charles in the abdomen and then ran off. Rosalie crawled over to him and trying to stop the bleeding but she was beaten, bruised and bleeding herself and was too weak to do much."

"It took the police five minutes to get to them having traced Charles' cell phone and another five to get them both to the hospital. Charles was immediately wheeled into surgery. By the time we got there, Rosalie had been patched up and her statement was given to the police. When we got situated in a room with Rosalie, she told us what happened and asked that we check on Mr. Swan. I decided to check on it myself considering that Jonathon was too angry at the King family and Emmett was too torn up at see Rosalie in that condition."

"I had posed as a friend to the Swan family and was told that there had been some complication during his surgery. Obviously that was all I was told. For two hours we waited. Because of what happened they, meaning the doctors, wanted to keep Rosalie over night. We had our men everywhere and it was one of them who told me that Charles Swan had lost too much blood and was most likely not going to make it. The doctors had already approached his daughter about taking him of his life support."

"Jesus!" Edward exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "What happened to him?" He demanded having lost all the composure that came with his many years of training.

"I am getting to that now son. I had found the room that he was in and slipped in unnoticed. Emmett and Jonathon already knew what I was going to do. I was going to ensure that he lived. He after all risked his life for one of us, why then not save him?" I shrugged before continuing. "While in the room his daughter walked in. As soon as she saw me, she stopped dead in her tracks. Initially I thought it was because she was startled to see anyone in the room but I was wrong, dead wrong."

"What do you mean?" Edward asked turning to face me from where he was now pacing.

"She knew who I was. She knew I was Carlisle Cullen, Head of the Cullen Mafia family."

"WHAT?" Edward roared.

"Calm down Edward. I am not finished yet so a little patience would be appreciated." I said in a demanding tone, fixing him with a cold gaze.

With a sigh, he resumed his pacing as I continued on.

"Apparently, Charles never kept anything from Isabella. He was all she had just like he was all she had. When she regained her composure, or a semblance of composure, she asked me what I was doing there, in that room with her father. I replied her telling her honestly that he had been shot protecting Rosalie and I wanted to do anything in my power to keep him alive. All the while during the conversation, she had kept her eyes on her father and the many machines that were keeping him alive. When I said that I wanted to help she turned away from her father for the first time and asked if she could meet Rosalie. At first I was hesitant, not knowing what she would be saying but when she assured me that she just wanted to meet the woman her father had saved I yielded. She followed me to Rosalie's room, not even making one sound. I had texted Emmett and told him to expect us. When we entered the room where Rosalie was kept, Isabella took one look at Rosalie before pulling her into a hug while whispering words of comfort into her ear. I still remember those words with perfect clarity."

"Rosalie, don't you dear blame yourself for this. My father would have done what he did tonight for anyone. He took his job seriously. It did not matter to him that you were the daughter of a mafia leader. All that mattered to him was that you were innocent and did nothing to deserve what might have happened tonight. So please don't blame yourself." I heard Rosalie whisper hoarsely across the room from where she sat all the while looking at Edward whose back was facing away from us.

"She told you that?" Edward asked.

'Yes." Rosalie responded as she rose from her seat and made her way over to the man she considered to be her brother since before she could even speak.

"What happened next Rosie?" Edward asked softly as he took Rosalie into his arms.

"A nurse ran into the room then and told Charles' daughter that he had flat-lined and that they had to revive him. With a sad smile on her face she pulled out her chain which surprisingly had a cross on it. She kissed it softly while whispering so quietly that I had no clue what she was saying. After that she said good-bye to me a walked out. That was all I every heard from his daughter again."

"Do any of you know what happened next?" Edward asked as curiosity burned in his eyes.

"I do." Jonathon answered from where he was seated. "After I heard what Charles' daughter said to my Rose, I followed her back to her father's room. There were about five doctors there trying their best to stabilize him. When she walked in she told them to stop. Calmly she walked up to him and bent down to whisper in his ear even though everyone in the room heard what she said."

"What did she say?" I asked curiously having never heard this part of the story.

"Dad, I know that you are tired and still fighting to hold on. I know you are only doing this to hold on for me but you can let go. Your body is too weak. So don't hold on anymore. Go. I love you with every fiber of my being. You have been and always will be the only man I love. I am your baby girl from now until the ends of time. But you have to let go. Go meet mom. Tell her I love her and in the next seventy years or so, I'll be there with you. I love you but it's time you blaze the trail to heaven. I love you, papa. I love you so much." Jonathon said with tears in his eyes. "She had already made her peace ith the fact that she was going to loss her father that night and she knew that the only reason he was fighting as hard as he was to stay alive was because of her so she gave him the peace to go. Those were also the last words that Charles Swan heard. He died not even a minute later at exactly twelve mid-night on the day his daughter graduated."

I looked on as Edward closed his eyes trying desperately to absorb all we just told him. Rosalie clung to him with unimaginable strength most likely reliving that night vividly.

"What does this have to do with me?" Edward asked not releasing his sister-in-law from his embrace.

"After Charles' death, we took his daughter under our wing; protecting her from every and anything. Now that I am getting ready to hand over the business to you, it will now become your responsibility to take care of her." I answered as I reached for the file containing all of our information on my unofficial daughter. "Charles' daughter name is Isabella Marie and we have reason to believe that an ally of the Kings has set his eyes on her."

"Who?" He chocked out as Rosalie moved away and went to seat with Emmett once again.

"James DeLuca." Jonathon answered slipping into his Don-mode.

'And that is not good." Jasper said from his position at the door.

"No it isn't." Edward replied. "But it will be tough to protect her out there." Edward said as he himself slipped into the Mafia mantle that I prepared to hand to him.

"So what we doing, boss?" Emmett asked as he stood ready and waiting for his instruction.

"We bring her here." Was all my son said simply before once again hugging his mother and sisters and walking out the door followed by Jasper and Emmett.

"You know," Mary Alice spoke out loud for the first time since your little family meeting began, "it's only a matter of time before he falls in love with Isabella."

"How do you know that?" Rosalie asked, with a slight smile playing on her face.

"I've seen it." Mary Alice shrugged before pulling out some magazine from besides her.

"Well that is a good thing then." I heard my wife say from besides me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I think it's time to get rid of Tanya. My boy is too good for her."

And for some reason, I could not find myself disagreeing at all.


	3. The Daughter

**DISCLAIMER ON PROFILE. **

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

** Chapter Two: The Daughter's Grief**

** Isabella's POV. **

**_Drops of his Heart's Blood_**

_THE nightingale with drops of his heart's blood  
Had nourished the red rose, then came a wind,  
And catching at the boughs in envious mood,  
A hundred thorns about his heart entwined.  
Like to the parrot crunching sugar, good  
Seemed the world to me who could not stay  
The wind of Death that swept my hopes away._

_Light of mine eyes and harvest of my heart,  
And mine at least in changeless memory!  
Ah, when he found it easy to depart,  
He left the harder pilgrimage to me!  
Oh Camel-driver, though the cordage start,  
For God's sake help me lift my fallen load,  
And Pity be my comrade of the road!_

_My face is seamed with dust, mine eyes are wet.  
Of dust and tears the turquoise firmament  
Kneadeth the bricks for joy's abode; and yet . . .  
Alas, and weeping yet I make lament!  
Because the moon her jealous glances set  
Upon the bow-bent eyebrows of my moon,  
He sought a lodging in the grave-too soon!_

_I had not castled, and the time is gone.  
What shall I play? Upon the chequered floor  
Of Night and Day, Death won the game-forlorn  
And careless now, Hafiz can lose no more._

_From: __Teachings of Hafiz_

_Translated by Gertrude Bell 1897_

With a heavy sigh, I snapped the book shut as the tears continued to pour down my face.

It had been six years.

Six years since my father died.

Six years since anything had been right.

Six years….and a lot has happened since.

With a trembling hand, I lifted my glass of wine hoping the bittersweet drink would sooth me and help to bring back my slipping composure. Burying myself further into my couch, I set my glass down and picked up the picture of my father that was next to me. My fingers lightly traced his face as memory after memory of my childhood and the love I had for him, began their assault on my mind; on my heart.

In Forks, where I no longer reside, no one took my father's death lightly. We all mourned for his loss, some more than other but if there was one thing that all the inhabitants agreed upon, it was that I was to be blamed for my father's death and that became my cross to bear. I was hated and shunned and by the time my father's grave had been covered over, I had been completely ostracized from the only home I had known and was left cold and alone

I never regretted what I did that night but that did not stop me from hating myself for what happened. In some sick and twisted way I always found some way to blame myself. The reasons and endless justifications as to why my father's death was my fault was a constant record playing in my head. The reasons were always the same: I shouldn't have gone to school in Chicago. I shouldn't have insisted on him coming to my graduation. I shouldn't have made him go to dinner with me. I shouldn't have chosen that restaurant. I shouldn't…..

But I did. I made all those choices and in return I lost my father; a father who I loved, who I cared for dearly, who was the only thing that mattered to me.

A playful meow pulled me from my musing and I turned to look at the other two inhabitants of my apartment, Clarity and Muss. Clarity was my eight year old cat that I got as a present from an acquaintance in college. She was a wise cat but was undeniably spoilt. Muss was my five week old Rottweiler puppy. I had found him in an alley thin, weak and alone and had taken him in without asking a single question. Like anyone else, I was a bit afraid to introduce these two; after all- they were supposed to be mortal enemies but they proved me wrong. Their friendship and camaraderie was beautiful to look at. I had spent hours just looking at their friendship; so pure and untainted by anything. When you saw one, the other was not far behind. Where Muss was playful, somewhat mischievous and always seemed to be getting in trouble, Clarity was calm, docile and tried to keep Muss out of trouble. The contrast of character between these two was astounding yet one could not live without the other. They both needed each other, just like I needed my father.

Suddenly the apartment seemed too small; suffocating. I could not stay there. I had to get out. Jumping to my feet, I literally ran to my bedroom. As quickly as I could, I threw on a randomly chosen dress; some shoes grabbed my purse and car keys before speeding down to the car park of my apartment complex.

I drove like a crazy person, weaving in and out of cars like the devil himself was chasing me. But it wasn't the devil. It was my demons; the demons I never faced. I knew that night that even though I gave closure to my father so that he could go and to Rosalie so that she could move on with her life, I, in no way, had accepted what had happened. I lied to myself and everyone else that night by putting on a façade of being fine. I was never fine. The only person I had left in the world was leaving me…how the hell was I supposed to be fine with that? Was it selfish of me to want somebody to notice I was hurting? That I needed to grieve? That I needed someone to be there for me?

Probably but damn it: I was twenty years old. I was now getting ready to face the world. That, in no way, meant that I neither wanted nor intended to face it alone.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I jumped slightly in shock when I found myself parked in front on the local church that was about twenty minutes from where I lived. After ensuring that I did not look like too bad, I got out of my car and walked in.

The lights were dimed. The mood, like always, was somber. With a heavy heart, I went forth and lit a candle for my father and then moved to sit on a pew to the back of the church and away from any one else. I needed the solitude, the separation.

My father really was the one who was religious. He was the one who insisted that I go to church every Sunday with him. He was the one who made sure God was in our lives and now, even in death, he made sure that I had some sort of peace by me returning to something so familiar; something untouched and untainted by what happened that night.

I closed my eyes as I listened to the church choir. The hymns were soothing, like a balm placed on my heart. I knew I was crying. I could feel the salty tears leaking down my face but I made no move to stem their flow. I allowed myself to become lost in the ever so familiar pain; the pain that had become my only constant since my father's death. It was all I had when it came to feeling something; anything and that was probably why I held on to it.

Or was it the fear of forgetting; of forgetting who he was and the love I had for him?

Or was it just simply the act of goodbye and admitting for once that I , Isabella Marie Swan, was truly alone in this world: no family, no parents, no friends, no one?

What made it so hard for me to move on? It was the question I kept chanting over and over in my head and sadly I had no answer.

I had no idea how long I sat there but I was aware that time had moved on and that I need to leave. Grabbing my belongings, I rose up and walked out to the church only to be stopped dead in my tracks. Quietly I chuckled at my reaction because it had been the same when I first saw him because there leaning against my car was none other than Carlisle Cullen, Head of the Cullen Mafia Family.


	4. The Way Home

**Disclaimer on Profile.**

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Chapter Three.**

**Edward's POV.**

_Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding  
Fall into your sunlight  
The future's open wide beyond believing  
To know why hope dies  
Losing what was found, a world so hollow  
Suspended in a compromise  
The silence of this sound is soon to follow  
Somehow sundown_

_And finding answers  
Is forgetting all of the questions we call home  
Passing the graves of the unknown_

_As reason clouds my eyes, with splendor fading  
Illusions of the sunlight  
And the reflection of a lie will keep me waiting  
Love gone for so long_

_This day's ending is the proof of time killing all the faith I know  
Knowing that faith is all I hold_

_And I've lost who I am  
And I can't understand  
Why my heart is so broken  
Rejecting your love  
Without love gone wrong  
Life  
Less words  
Carry on_

_But I know  
All I know  
Is that the ends beginning_

_Who I am from the start  
Take me home to my heart  
Let me go  
And I will run  
I will not be silenced_

_All this time spent in vain  
Wasted years  
Wasted gain  
All is lost  
Hope remains  
And this war's not over_

_There's a light  
There's the sun  
Taking all the shattered ones  
To the place we belong  
And his love will conquer_

_And I've lost who I am  
And I can't understand  
Why my heart is so broken  
Rejecting your love  
Without love gone wrong  
Life  
Less words  
Carry on_

_But I know  
All I know  
Is that the ends beginning_

_Who I am from the start  
Take me home to my heart  
Let me go  
And I will run  
I will not be silenced_

_All this time spent in vain  
Wasted years  
Wasted gain  
All is lost  
Hope remains  
And this war's not over_

_There's a light  
There's the sun  
Taking all the shattered ones  
To the place we belong  
And his love will conquer all  
Yes his love will conquer all_

_Yesterday I died, tomorrow's bleeding  
Fall into your sunlight_

_Shattered by Trading Yesterday_

From the beginning, the mafia was always painted as a bunch of men who swore like sailors and had no value for human life. That was the stereotype; a stereotype that my family in no way fit. The mafia had a structure; a dynamic structure. No man knew more than what he was required to do.

At the bottom of the pyramid were the fall men; the petty wannabe gangster you see on the street corner. If they fall, the Mafia lost nothing. They might think we need them but we don't. It was easy to replace them; too easy actually. They were all lured into this life with the promise of flashy cars and high class living; some things they would never achieve.

Above them, but still at the bottom of the crap pile, were the handlers. They were a little more valuable but again, replaceable. They were the ones who were in charge of the wannabe's. If something went wrong, they had to answer. It was these guys who we gave the drugs and ammunition to. They were the ones who everyone went after from law enforcement to the other handler who wants the turf but at the end of the day they meant nothing. They were puppets; each and every single one of them.

Moving higher up the ladder are the important men. We call them the sleepers because no one except for the head of the Mafia knew who they were. They were the link between the violence in the street and the high class assassinations that made killing look like an art. Admittedly, the sleepers were important. They, as their name suggest, are silent men. They handle everything on the street but the beauty of being a sleeper was that no one knew who you were so no one could come after you and it was the sleepers that acted as the break that helped keep the operations and involvement of the Mafia in society, silent.

And then we reach the top. These were the top men; the men who knew everything. If you wanted to know anything, from the time and the date when a small time convenience store would be robbed to the place where a top government official was buried twenty years ago after going missing in Guam: ask them. They were the men who called the assassinations and dictated maybe have of the laws every written ensuring there were loop holes to keep themselves protected. If a life was to be taken, it was calculated, planned, discussed and then the target was taken out. Make no mistake and confuse the mafia with hitmen. You would be a fool to do so. The Mafia had hitmen but like everything the role of a hitman was and is distinct and separated from the role of a Don. These were the men who were protected at all cost because if they went down, everything goes straight to hell. These were the men like my father, Jonathon Hale and me: the Dons.

My mind was yet to catch with me. It was still in that room trying to process all that was said.

Charles Swan….

Rosie…

The Kings…

The De Lucas…

Isabella….

As soon as I reached my office, I threw the door open with such force that it slammed against the wall. I knew Jasper and Emmett had followed me as they should. Yanking of my jacket and tie, I threw them onto the floor by my desk as I poured myself a glass of scotch. Jasper and Emmett had already seated themselves in front of my desk and were going through the file my father handed them.

Guzzling down my scotch, I closed my eyes at the familiar burn allowing it to sooth me to the extent that I could deal with what I had been told and what I had yet to do. I knew that since my father was preparing to hand over the family now that he would not help in this, in any way, until a need arose. Refilling my glass, I walked over to my desk and sat; leaning back in my chair with my finger tips joined.

As I looked up, I meant the gaze of the only two men I trusted with my life. They were both sleepers, keeping this family protected. They were my brothers in bloodshed and my comrades in war however they came with two completely different personalities but it just made them more lethal: Where one was pure muscle and strength, the other was lithe and fast. Where one was brutal and blunt, the other was cunning and silent. Yes: Emmett and Jasper were different but it kept us all alive.

"What do we know?" I asked the two men.

"Quite a bit actually," Jasper replied as he shuffled around some papers in his file before continuing.

"Name: Isabella Marie Swan. Date of Birth: 13th September. Graduated top of her class in business. Both parents are dead. Doesn't work but has a lot of money. Apparently she got a shitload of cash when her father died and now she just invests in stocks."

"Where does she live, Major?" I asked, cutting to the chase. I would deal with the little details later.

"In high class Chicago." He answered, "The Gold Coast to be exact."

"Holy Shit!" Emmett exclaimed. "That girl is making some serious cash."

"Yeah. From her information here, she has seven bank accounts all with over half a million dollars each."

"How the hell does she do it?" He asked.

"She knows how to play the stocks. She sees thing other people don't and has made a killing for herself." Jasper shrugged, knowing that was of little importance.

"Do we have a schedule for her?"

"That's the thing Edward: she only leaves her apartment once a week and it's on Sunday when she goes to church."

"What?" I asked confused.

"She's a loner. She does not have a job, no friends. Once every two weeks she has groceries delivered to her door but other than that she stays within the four walls of her apartment building."

"Well we have to get to her somehow and we can't do that in church and we can't meet her in her home in case we go there, she freaks, she moves and we lose her." I said throwing my head back in frustration knowing that this was complicating things a bit. "Couldn't she be a shopping addict like Alice? It would make getting to meet her a lot easier." I groaned.

"Nope! Chick has got herself a personal shopper." Emmett chortled.

"But something is not adding up Edward." Jasper said, completely ignoring Emmett and myself.

"What?" I asked cautiously, raising my eyebrow.

"Not what…..who?"

"I'm confused." Emmett said. Well you and meet both, pal.

"Isabella is not adding up. This," He said as he thrusting a sheet of paper out to me, "is a letter of character given to her by her dean when she graduated. Read it and tell me the person we are discussing and the person that dean was describing is the same person."

With an exasperated sigh, I picked up the paper and began to read. What I read however left me bleeding for this girl who I did not know.

"How did we not see this? We are supposed to protect our own. " I roared as I sprang to my feet in search of my father.

"We did, Edward." Emmett responded as he followed me.

"No we did not. We might of protected her from the guns and the drugs and the bloodshed but we did not protect her for herself; her loneliness, her pain."

"Edward, that is bullshit and you now it." Emmett continued to argue and for some odd reason I snapped.

Before anyone knew what was happening, I spun around, grabbed Emmett by his throat and threw him into the wall pinning him there.

"Emmett, listen to me and listen to me well. For six years, this family kept a secret from me; a secret that left an innocent man dead and his daughter parentless because he chose to protect one of ours; your wife. At the time, two Dons who were supposed to know everything, thought that by just allowing her physical protection, that she would be alright but tell me Emmett, would you be alright if you were the last one standing in our family and everyone else was dead? I don't think you will be alright like we expected her to be. We slipped up. We slipped up big time and may have cost Isabella her sanity." I said; my voice cold as ice and hard as steel.

Ten minutes later, I found him in the orchid garden, lying on his back with his head in my mother's lap.

"Dad, I need you!" I shouted as soon as he was within hearing range. Instantly he shot up and turned to look at me.

"Edward, what is it?" He asked with a slightly panicked look in his eyes.

"When we go to get Isabella, you need to go with us." I said looking at him dead in the eye.

"And why is that?" He asked; curiosity being the main emotion playing on his face.

"Did you read the file you gave us?" I asked.

"N….."I did not even give him time to finish his word.

"Shit, dad! In the file, there was a character recommendation there for Bella. Here you could read it if you want. When we compared the person she was to the person she is today you will see that she is severely depressed. She hasn't moved on from her father's death. She hasn't grieved. We thought that by just protecting her from the brutality of the mafia world that we were keeping her safe by that isn't so. That isn't true. We condemned her to that cross. She lost her father, the only person left to her. Dad, in our oath as dons we said _"__Mi deve proteggere la mia con il sangue di ferite e sopportare sulle mie spalle, gli oneri non mi consentono di affrontare la mia famiglia.__" _Dad, this was her burden to bear and we left her alone."

"Edward," my father chuckled, "I'm sure you are mistaken son." He said placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"No, Mr. Cullen," Jasper interjected, "He is not mistaken at all. These were pictures of Isabella taken just last week." He said as he passed my father the pictures.

I looked on as horror filled my father's face as he looked at the pictures; do doubt seeing the pain Isabella was in. I had lost count of the number of pictures he looked through until he stopped at one and closed his eyes. After taking a deep breath, to calm himself he looked at me and every single guard who stood silently watching the exchange.

"Listen up all of you. Find an opening to get to Isabella Swan now!" He roared and with that everything was set in motion for us to bring Isabella Marie Swan home.

It had been fifteen days, four hours and twenty-seven minutes since the order to find an opening was issued. The dealings of the Mafia continued uninterrupted: meetings were held, drug and ammunition brought in, men were killed

But the family was in shambles. Rosalie was again distraught and blamed herself for the pain Isabella was now in. Alice was in pain because she knew how much Isabella meant to the family and even thought she was not a part of the family yet, she was considered to be member of it. My mother was as bad of as was to be expected. She loved Isabella. They all did but I somehow felt a bit of jealousy knowing that they knew of her existence of so long.

Jasper, Emmett and I were now part of a twenty-four hour surveillance team. Normally we would be no where near this but we were now obligated, by blood oath, to right the wrong that we had, either knowingly or unknowingly, allowed to occur. Isabella had taken a blow for your family and we had allowed her to live in that pain for too long. She was too pure and too innocent to be in so much pain. She did not deserve the pain she was in and I would ensure she no longer hurt.

But the reaction that had shocked me the most was my father's. It took Esme the better part of a day to get him to calm down and to stop blaming himself for the pain Isabella was in. She argued that he couldn't have known that she would have withdrawn from the world the way she did but he would rebut her by saying that he should have checked and kept on checking. I know that the vows he took when he became a Don were weighing heavily on his mind. No one but the Dons knew the actual weight and burden those words carried and while our wives were there when the burden became too much, the comfort that they gave simply was never enough.

I was in my office, once again reading Isabella's file. In there was a picture of her. I remember the first time I had seen the picture, to which I was rendered breathless. She was beautiful; undeniably so. Her hair, her lips, her eyes, everything about her drew me in. I knew there and then that I wanted to get to know her; befriend her; beguile her. I wanted her to whisper into my ear and run her fingers through my hair. I wanted her presence and scent to engulf me; sooth me. I wanted her.

I was so lost in thought that I did not know anyone else was in my office until I heard the voice of my wife.

I was nineteen when I married Tanya and at that point in my life I can say that I honestly loved my wife. She was kind, loving and caring but money and power got to her, even though it was not hers, and she changed into who she was today: a cold, bitter shrew who I wanted nothing to do with. Our marriage had ended a long time ago and now I knew it was time it ended legally. I had no love left for her. I just could not do it anymore.

"Eddie, what are you doing?" Tanya asked. It took all of my self-control not to cringe at the sound of her voice.

"I am working, Tanya." I answered in the voice I would use to explain something to our son, Matthew.

"At three in the morning?" She said raising her eyebrow in question.

"Yes, Tanya."

"But I want you in bed, with me." She whined. "Come on!" She demanded yanking me from my seat.

"Tanya, I will come to bed when I am ready." I barked out, "Go back to bed, now."

"God Edward! What crawled up your ass and died. Fine I will go but don't worry of coming to bed. Stay here with your precious work." She sneered while she walked out.

And all the while, all I could do was try to find some reason to stay married to her and I was failing miserably.

It was now morning and the mood in the house was of pure mourning and sorrow. Today was the day that Charles Swan had died. Today, was the day the Isabella lost everything that was dear to her in the world. Today was the day that we had abandoned one of our own.

In the Cullen household, it was unspoken protocol that all meals occurred as a family and today at breakfast the members of the family were silent as they remembered what we had lost this day.

My father and I sat at opposite ends of the table while our wives sat on our right. To my left was the only good thing that came from my marriage to Tanya. Matthew Carlisle Cullen was born on December 15th three years ago. I was twenty seven when I held my son for the first time and I have loved him from that moment.

In the Mafia, family meant everything. You would do anything for your family. The Mafia wives were placed on pedestals and worshipped. They were respected and loved. To hurt your wife in any form or fashion was frowned upon. The princes and princesses of the Mafia were the heart and soul around which everything was centered. The love shown to them was unparallel. I should know. Matthew was my world; my everything and as much as I despised my wife, I owed her everything because of him.

Presently, Matt was meticulously arranging the pancake I had cut for him in order. Alice was on his right helping him and ensuring that a few pieces of his pancake reached his mouth. I could not help the smile that spread across my face as I watched those two interact. Matt would place down his pancake in a line and then Alice would pick it up to feed him. Huffing, he would glare at her for breaking his line and grudgingly open his mouth to accept his food. As much as he hated her disruptions, he never revolted. After all she was the closest thing to a mother my son had since Tanya had all but verbally disowned him at birth. She wanted nothing to do with him and when we discovered that Matthew had autism, it just helped cement that fact that she would have nothing to do with him.

"Da!" Matthew squealed when he realized that I was staring at him.

"Yes little prince." I said as I scooped him out of his high chair and sat him on my lap.

Cradling him, with his back against my chest, I took his breakfast and started to feed him myself. There was no greater love than the love I had for my son. Tanya was not so quietly huffing and puffing. After our squabble last night, I had indeed not returned to our bedroom. I had stayed in my office and had fallen asleep with Isabella's picture lying on my chest. I did not know what it was about her but to look at those pictures of her and to see her so broken just made me want to take her into my arms and take away all the hurt and the pain.

Suddenly, the doors to the dining area were thrown open and one of our guards entered. Bowing to both my father and myself, he waited until either one indicated that he could speak. With a nod from my father he indicated that I should take the reins on this one.

"Seth, what can I do for you this morning?" I asked as I wiped a bit of food from Matthew's mouth.

"Sir, it is Isabella Swan, sir. She just ran out of her apartment building. The men who were following her said she is looking at bit messed up…. overwhelmed." He said before he bowed and stepped back.

The reaction around the table was instantaneous. Forks and knives clattered onto plates. My mother had burst into tears and was now holding hands with my father trying desperately to get some sort of comfort. Rosie looked lost and was sobbing into Emmett's chest. I knew the condition Isabella was in was only adding to her guilt. Jasper and Alice looked on helplessly at the already distraught family. The only one who showed no emotion was my vain and vapid shrew of a wife.

"Do you know where she is headed?" I asked, surprised that my own throat felt tight with emotion.

"She just arrived in the church, sir." He responded immediately, pointing to his ear piece.

"That will be all." I said and with that he walked out the room.

"We have to get her." Rosalie cried.

"And we will." I said as I passed Matthew to Alice. "She is coming home today. Alice, please make sure a room is ready for Isabella?" I asked.

"Of course Edward." Alice answered in a small voice.

Without hesitation, Emmett, Jasper and my father rose and followed me out the door.

"Jasper, make preparations to leave. Emmett, tighten security here because we are taking some of our men." I ordered as we walked the corridors together. Silently they both branched of leaving my father and me alone to walk to my office.

"Would we need to drug her, dad?" I asked.

"Edward you can't possibly think of bringing that girl here by force. I will not allow that." My father said heatedly.

"I can tell you what I am doing. I am bringing Isabella Swan back here in this house. I am going to help Isabella Swan get over her father's death and I am going to keep her safe until the day she dies." I responded; matching his anger.

"Edward," my father said softly as he closed the door, "You've become attached to her, haven't you?" He asked

"Is it a crime?" I retorted, not looking away from my window.

"No. Caring is never a crime, son but proceed with caution especially with that wife of yours."

"About that dad….couldn't you have shot me in the knee cap and bound me to a tree so I wouldn't have married her?" I said with a groan.

"I could have but how would I have had a grandson?" he said chuckling. "Prepare a dose of clonazepam. I'll use it if the need arises."

And with that, he walked out leaving me alone with my thoughts. After preparing the sedative, I walked over to my desk that was littered with Isabella's picture. Sighing, I picked up the picture that had become my favorite. In it she was looking out of her apartment window and down at the street. The sun was hitting the side of her face making her skin shimmer and glow but the sadness in her face twisted my heart and left me breathless.

"Soon. Soon you will be home, bellezza irraggiungibile." I whispered before going down to meet the others.

I had no idea how long we sat there in the car but soon enough I saw my father walking forward to the entrance of the church.

"Abbiamo ottenutio il movimento, la gente." I said sitting up in my seat.

And then there she was; the woman who had gained the loyalty of two of the most powerful families in the world through her father's act of selflessness: Miss Isabella Marie Swan.

No picture had done her justice. Her body was perfection; the curves subtle and elegant. She face was flawless with a natural beauty that all women desired. Her hair, while haphazard and uncombed, flowed down her back in a river of silky, smooth brown waves. Oh how I desired to run my fingers through her hair.

I looked on as she cautiously approached my father. He held his hand out for her to shake but she disregarded him and wrapped her own arms around herself as if she was seeking protection from some unknown force. From this angle, we could all see the exchange. My father cautiously moved towards her. I saw his lips moving. I wish I knew what he was saying to her but he refused to wear a microphone. To whatever he said, she shook her head.

_Isabella_, I saw my father mouth before she looked at him fully in his eyes and what I saw had me reeling back. Emmett who was seated next to me muttered a low _Fuck_ while Jasper exhaled deeply. No one; man woman or child, should have to bear that kind of pain. Before my father could say anything else, she collapsed into his chest. Without hesitation my father brought his arms around her as clung to him. I could see him whispering into her ear while her body shook.

"Stay here." I ordered before I jumped out the car and made my way over to my father.

Kneeling down I placed a comforting hand on the small of her back as she continued to sob. My father looked at me with despair in his eyes. We had already drawn a crowd but there was noting we could do about that now.

Leaning down I whispered in her ear.

"Bellezza irraggiungibile, my name is Edward Cullen and I promise you that I will make it go away. I'll make the pain go away."

"Please!" Was all I heard her say before she latched her arms around my neck. Quickly I scooped her into my arms, cradling her to my chest.

"I'll go with Emmett, Jasper and the rest. You get her home and in bed." My father ordered as he gave her the sedative.

With a nod of my head, I stepped into the Mercedes that had pulled up and after giving the driver the order to take us home, I relished in the feel of having my broken angel in my arms.

Translations:

_Mi deve proteggere la mia con il sangue di ferite e sopportare sulle mie spalle, gli oneri non mi consentono di affrontare la mia famiglia: I shall protect my own with the blood of my wounds and bear upon my back the burden I shall not allow them to bear._

_Bellezza irraggiungibile: Unattainable beauty._

_Abbiamo ottenutio il movimento, la gente: We've got movement people._


	5. The Arrival

DISCLAIMER ON PROFILE.

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**_Family_**

_Family is the strong tie,  
That holds you to the ground.  
When it seems that you have lost,  
All that you had found.  
They are the rock that holds you down,  
When you start to float away,  
And they can turn your life around,  
When you go astray.  
They are the friends that you are born with,  
They are with you 'till the end,  
And when life treats you rough,  
Your broken heart they will mend.  
Although sometimes you may fuss and fight,  
And may not always agree,  
In the dark, they are the light,  
That shows the path so you can see._

_By:_

_Michelle Peters _

Previously from Chapter 2:

_I had no idea how long I sat there but I was aware that time had moved on and that I need to leave. Grabbing my belongings, I rose up and walked out of the church only to be stopped dead in my tracks. Quietly I chuckled at my reaction because it had been the same when I first saw him because there leaning against my car was none other than Carlisle Cullen, Head of the Cullen Mafia Family._

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Chapter Four: The Arrival.**

**Isabella's POV.**

"Good afternoon, Isabella." He said politely as he held out his hand to me.

Completely disregarding the hand he held out, I wrapped my own arms around myself since I could not find it in myself to have the want, desire or strength to deal with anyone or anything. The pain was still fresh even now and seeing Carlisle Cullen just made that pain a little too unbearable.

"You're not going to speak to me, are you?" He asked kindly in a very gentle and soothing voice. I knew that voice all too well; a voice one would associate with a dearly loved paternal figure. My father spoke to me like that causing the pain within me to burn with a greater fury.

As the pain came back at me fully, all I could do was shake my head in response.

"Isabella," he said again in that voice; that paternal voice and I just broke.

Before either he or I could have registered what I was doing, I threw myself into his arms and began to sob. Desperately, I clung onto his shirt. I knew this was wrong: Here I was in the middle on the sidewalk, clinging onto one of the most deadly men in the world and I could not seem to care. I needed some comfort; something that reminded me of my father and for some reason, Carlisle Cullen was that reminder.

I was vaguely away of him mumbling nonsensically into my ear as he lowered both of us to the ground. I could hear people faintly whispering as they looked on but I did not care.

Out of nowhere, I felt another hand on the lower part of my back rubbing soothing circles. This touch was different to Carlisle's. This person's hands were undeniably masculine. They were large and strong; course and used. The strength behind then left me with a blanket of security.

Was this what I had to do all along: break down like a fool in the middle of a sidewalk to get the one thing I needed; to get comfort?

Suddenly, I felt someone's breath fan against my neck, as the person leaned closer to me. His scent was intoxicating. Even in my near delirium, I was able to take in and savor this scent. It had a certain distinction about it. I could smell the pungent odor of expensive Colombian cigars with a slight ting of bourbon but the masculinity and pure domineering aspects of the mystery person's scent was balanced of with the softer and milder scent of baby powder.

"Bellezza irraggiungibile," I heard him whisper into my ear, "my name is Edward Cullen and I promise you that I will make it go away. I'll make the pain go away." He said with so much emotion that it was difficult, if not impossible, to not believe him.

But as much as I wanted to hear that voice again; his voice, my attention and focus was solely on his words; his promise.

After six years, a man who I knew nothing about had promised to give me the one thing I needed.

Instantly I was in his arms after crying out my plea and acceptance of his promise. Initially, I thought he would have pushed me away after having launched myself into his arms but he surprised me by pulling me closer into his chest.

Somewhere above me, I heard Carlisle telling my mystery angel to take me and that he would follow as I felt something pinch my skin and before I could register anything more, my eyelids drooped and I was pulled under into unconsciousness.

**Edward's POV.**

The drive to the Cullen Manor was long to say the least but for the first time in my life I found myself not complaining.

The Cullen Manor was built in the year 1901 by my great grandfather who was the founder of the Mafia.

No one knew for certain how the Mafia came to be except a selected few. For me, it was like a bedtime story, having been told since the age of six when I had to pledge my first allegiance to my family.

In the early 1850's, my great grandfather, Marcus Cullen, came to the Americas after having been sent here by his father to make a name for himself, both financially and in status. At the time he was twenty-one years of age and he had no more than the clothes on his back. For months he tried to find work; honest work but he could find nothing. No one wanted to hire a man like him; dressed in his tattered and torn clothing and not speaking one word of English. I remembered him telling me one night that his closest companions became his never ending hunger and loneliness. He said there were some nights when he would huddle down in an alley and cry until he had no more tears. He said that after a year of trying, he was ready to end it all. He had found a poor paying job and had saved enough money to return to Italy even though he knew he would have to live in shame for the rest of his life.

However, his life was about to turn around.

Two days before he was scheduled to leave to return to Italy, he was passing by an alley when he heard to men speaking. Even though he had lived in America for a year, he still did not understand English fully but he understood enough- enough to know that those two men were planning on killing the wife and child of the man who had given him his job and even though he made not more than the cost to keep himself clothed, sheltered and with meager amounts of food on his table, he still felt the need to protect his boss' family.

After hearing the entire conversation, he left immediately to go to his boss' house. He said that he walked five miles in the rain and without a coat to get there. A lesser man would have quit and just let the leaves fall where they may but he wouldn't…. couldn't allow the death of a woman and child to occur.

When he arrived at his boss' house, the butler refused him entry, thinking that he had come to beg. The butler even had the guards throw him out of the property but he was persistent. He sat and waited until he saw someone else entering into the property; a woman in fact He immediately started pleading with her to let him talk to the boss. Little did he know that the woman was in fact the boss' sister.

After hearing his plea, she told him to follow her in and she would get the boss for him and true to her word, she did. He said he did not know how long he sat there waiting on his boss but soon enough he heard the gruff voice of Mr. Edward Masen calling him over.

As soon as he saw Mr. Masen, in his broken English, he told him what he had heard. Obviously, from what my great grandfather did, Mr. Masen was able to protect his family and in turn killed the two men who were planning on destroying his family but what my great grandfather did not know was that in the Mafia world you keep what you kill and the man who was killed by Mr. Masen was none other than the then Head of the Volturi Mafia family, Stephan Volturi so by extension, the actions of Mr. Edward Masen left him in charge of the Masen Mafia family and the Volturi Mafia family.

Mr. Masen, however, had no intentions to take over the Volturi Family so he did the next best thing- he handed the family over to my great grandfather and became his mentor. Over the next couple of years, Edward Masen ensured that my great grandfather became trained in everything from simply learning English to hand-to-hand combat and on the four year anniversary of the day on which my great grandfather saved the life of Mrs. Elizabeth Masen and their daughter Brianna, in the year 1857, in front of eleven other Mafia leaders, my great grandfather became the leader of the Cullen Mafia family, formerly known as the Volturi Mafia family, after obtaining all the assets, wealth and contacts of the Volturi's.

In the years to come, my great grandfather and Edward Masen worked side by side forming a joint empire while both families still remained as separate entities. The bond between both families strengthened even further when my great grandfather chose to marry the sister of Edward Masen, the same one who had allowed him to speak with Mr. Masen.

So on the day that my great grandfather took a wife, in the form of Didyme Masen, he also commissioned for a home to be built where his family could grow and be safe.

Throughout the entire journey, Isabella slept peacefully in my arms, never once stirring but then again she was heavily medicated. I could not help myself as I traced her features with my fingers. She was an angel; a goddess, sent to torture me into submission and I was both eager and terrified as to the effects her presence would have during her stay at Cullen Manor.

The Manor itself was a fortress: one way in and several ways out but if you did not know what you were looking for you would die trying. The structure was purely 19th century styling consisting of seventy master bedrooms, five kitchens, one grand ballroom, two state-of-the-art gyms, one large games room and in-home theatre, one library that spans the three stories of the house and has every book every written and one ridiculously large pool.

"We are here, sir." I heard the driver say as he broke through my musing.

With a nod from me, he silently exited the car and made his way around to open the door for me.

As soon as I was out of the car, I was attacked by three equally distraught women.

'Bella," Rosalie sobbed as she shook her sleeping form in my arms, "wake up, sweetie. Wake up!" She said. "Why isn't she waking up? Edward, why isn't….."

"Rosie calm down, little sis. We just gave her some medication to help her sleep." I said softly as Alice took Rosalie into her arms.

"The room is ready Edward. She's in mom and dad's wing." Alice said softly with her own tears streaming down her face as she looked at the angel in my arms with only the adoration shared between sisters.

"Thank you," I said; knowing that that might have been the best decision made.

"Let us take her in son." My mother said before leading me up into the house while wiping the tears from her own eyes.

"Where is the prince, mom?" I asked as we ascended the staircase.

"Taking a nap in your room and you wife has gone shopping …again. Two guards went with her unfortunately but it is not like the other mafia families will do us a favor and just kill her but then again they do like to see us in pain and keeping Tanya alive and in this family is a sure fire way to continue our torture." She replied without missing a beat.

"The depth at which you hate my wife is astounding." I sniggered knowing that I hated her just as much too.

"Oh hush, it's not like you like her anymore than I do." My mother retorted as she opened the door that lead to Isabella's new room.

The room that was now Isabella's was beautifully elegant. Nothing was over the top reflecting the elegant beauty that was Isabella to the 'T.'

The walls were a subtly white color while the rest of the room was decorated in light pinks and oranges….Man I sound like a girl!

"Will you be alright with her?" I asked my mother as I placed Isabella on the bed and removed her shoes.

"Yes, I will be. Now leave so I can change her into something more comfortable and tell Samantha to come in." My mother said; effectively dismissing me.

As I walked out, I called the maid, Samantha, told her to go and help my mother and then left to find the rest of the family. Thankfully I did not have to search too long because I was able to quickly find my father who had situated himself in the dining room.

"Edward son, where is your mother and Isabella?" My father asked as he saw me enter into the room.

"Mother is with Isabella, changing her into something more comfortable, dad. When did you get back?" I asked as I took my seat opposite him.

"A couple minutes ago." Jasper responded as he walked in followed by Alice. "Rosalie and Emmett will be here shortly for dinner. Rose just needs a minute to collect herself."

"A drink, Master Cullen?" Michael, the butler asked.

"The usual, please." I responded with a small nod. "Is the little price up yet?"

"Yes, sir. Nanny Caroline is bringing him down now." Michael responded as he handed me my drink which I drowned down in one shot.

"You okay son?" My father asked clearly concerned knowing that today was in no way an easy one.

"I'll be fine but to answer your question-no I am not alright. Dad did you see what I saw today? That pain? Imagine what would have happened if Rosalie saw Isabella at the height of her pain?" I said in a steady voice; a voice that sounded almost detached from what had happened even if I was no way detached.

"I know, son. I really do." My father responded as he closed his eyes and placed his chin on his joint hands.

'What is the cause of action?" Jasper asked as he and Alice took there respective seats since it was almost time to have our dinner.

"Our hands are tied until Isabella wakes up." My father said as I nodded in agreement.

"Oh." Alice said softly as she leaned against Jasper clearly not liking the response.

"Emmett, Rose." My father acknowledged as they walked in. Silently, my father rose and made his way over to Rosalie. Emmett, realizing that my father wanted to speak with Rosalie, moved over to the table and sat.

For the first time in a very long time, saw the big teddy-bear of a man, looking like he was in actual physical pain from what his wife was going through. It just goes to show you the love the mafia wives are given; without question everyday.

"Master Cullen," I heard the voice of the nanny. "The young prince is here." She said softly as she walked over with him as he held onto her hand.

Instantly, a smile broke out across his face as he saw me.

"Da!" He exclaimed as he released his nanny's hand and extended them towards me as he closed and opened his little first: the sign he used when he wanted me to pick him up.

Within seconds, he was in my arms as I relished in his untainted innocence and the love I had for him.

"How was my boy today?" I cooed into his ears. "Did you behave well?" I asked tickling his chin little earning me some giggles.

"Yum-yum…..belly." He said as he rubbed his tummy indicating that he was hungry.

"Well then we should get that belly filled." I said dramatically. "How empty is it?" I asked as I moved to retake my seat.

"Ty, ty." He said shaking his head indicating that he was indeed very hungry.

"Well little prince, lets get you fed." I said as I positioned him in his high chair.

As soon as he was seated, Alice pounced and placed some vegetables on his tray with several pieces of chicken.

In the corner of the room, my father was still there with Rosalie cradled to his chest as they just hugged each other. If there was one thing that could make Rosalie feel better; it was a hug from any one of the father-figures and knew right now she was just basking in the love that my father gave to her.

Several minutes later, they rejoined us at the table as Alice and I continued to battle with Matthew to eat since playing with his food had more appeal to him than actually eating it.

"Where is your mother?" My father asked out loud as he realized that it was alarming late and dinner had not been served yet.

"Michael, kindly find my wife?" My father instructed but before he left, my mother entered the dining room with a watery smile and her arms tightly around my moon; my unattainable beauty.

"You see dear Isabella; I told you we had room for one more." My mother said and before anyone could say or do anything, Rosalie was out of her seat and sobbing into Isabella's arms.


	6. The First Dinner

**Disclaimer on Profile.**

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**Author's Note:**

**Firstly, allow me to apologize for the long update. The last couple of weeks have been busy.**

**Secondly, I would like to say that in the next couple of weeks I will be starting university where I will be doing a double major in Biology and Mathematics. This means I do not know how much free time I will have to write because while the other students only have to get thirty-six credits, I have to get seventy-two to graduate so I apologize now in advance for the length of time it may take me to update.**

**Thirdly, I would like to thank Thaigher Lillie for recommending this story and I will like to return the favor by recommend you visit her stories. Presently, she is writing several of them; all with varied twist and turns so I am sure you all will find something you like.**

**Fourthly, in the last chapter, there was some confusion about the age of Bella. Bella is actually twenty-six. She graduated college at twenty. Just thought I should clear that up for you all.**

**And fifthly and most importantly, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS. I LOVED THEM ALL. THANK YOU SO MUCH!**

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Chapter Five: The First Dinner.**

**Isabella's POV**

_The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck_

My body was heavy with sleep. I wanted nothing more than to lose myself back in the blank nothingness I had just emerged from but I was pulled closer and closer to consciousness by a voice.

I was aware that I was not in my own home but I could not find myself caring at all. For some reason I felt safe and protected. I remembered pieces of what had happened.

Carlisle Cullen…

Edward Cullen…

Promises….

I could feel a cool cloth being placed on my forehead as this voice sang. There were no words; just a simple melody that was sung from her lips; bathing the room with the warmth synonymously associated with motherhood. I could feel the warmth of the woman's body as she was, without a doubt, seated next to me.

Suddenly, the cloth was pulled from my forehead causing me to frown in disapproval.

"Hold on my dear," the voice said soothingly, "I need to rewet the cloth." She said with a slight chuckle.

It was not long until the cloth was once again placed on my forehead which caused my body to sing with a silent joy.

"Isabella, I must say that you are a beautiful girl. I always wanted a lot of girl children but after Alice, I was told I couldn't have anymore children and it crushed me. It just killed me to know that I had to wait until I got grandchildren so that I could hear the pitter-patter of those little feet again but anyway life was kind-ish and we have Matthew." She said happily while bouncing slightly on the bed.

"But we also got Tanya. I have no idea what Edward was thinking when he married that piece of work. That woman is the devil reincarnate. Do you know that she told Edward that she wants nothing to do with Matthew, her three year old son who has autism?" She huffed. "That woman is the biggest failure in motherhood but don't worry, I got myself a piece a steel to deal with that Barbie. Yup, my friends at Smith and Weston were very happy with my purchases. I was too until Carlisle found out and took my gun saying that I was not allowed to kill my son's wife." I could actually here the pout in her voice. "But that did not stop me from destroying her clothes, cancelling her credit cards and my personal favorite: pushing her down the stairs. I know people like to think that she trips a lot but truth and in fact it's just me pushing her down…. a lot." She said with so much joy and happiness that I giggled slightly.

"Oh…Isabella, are you awake?" The lady asked; jumping slightly.

"No," I answered softly snuggling back into the bed as I prepared to go back to sleep.

"Yes, you are." She sighed. "Why don't you open those eyes so that I can meet the woman who was come to mean so much to this family?"

Reluctantly, I allowed my eyes to open and came face-to-face with one of the most beautiful women that I had ever seen.

"Hello dear," she said softly as she cupped my face in her hands. "My name is Esme Platt Cullen and presently you are in the Cullen Manor. My husband, as you may or may not have known, is Carlisle Cullen. He and our son Edward brought you here today."

"I remember." I croaked out since my throat was burning and dry.

"Samantha," Mrs. Cullen called to a woman who was standing in the back of the room, "get me a glass of water for Isabella, please." She ordered without taking her eyes away from me.

Quickly, the plump woman left the room and returned with a slightly chilled glass of water. Silently, she presented the tray with the water to Mrs. Cullen, which she took and brought it to my lips in a silent offering. Greedily, I gulped down the liquid, allowing the coolness to sooth my burning throat.

After I had quenched my thirst, Mrs. Cullen removed the glass and placed it onto the bedside table next to us.

"Would you like some more, dear?" She offered softly as she gently wiped my mouth with her own hands.

"No thank you." I replied as I sat up in the bed causing the covers to fall to my waist. It was only then that I realized that someone had changed my into a very revealing nightgown causing me to blush.

"Isabella, is everything ok?" Mrs. Cullen asked cautiously; no doubt taking in my now fire-truck red coloring.

"Um…. I 'm fine, Mrs. Cullen. It's just that I was unaware that someone had changed me. I feel slightly embarrassed knowing that a complete stranger has seen me very close to be completely undressed." I whispered.

"Well, I apologize then Isabella. I had now ides that you would have been uncomfortable and embarrassed. It's just that…." Mrs. Cullen started to prattle on as she nervously twisted the bedding in her hands. Before she had the opportunity to rip the beautiful comforter apart, I decided to intervene.

"Mrs. Cullen, I'm sorry. You misunderstood. My embarrassment has more to do with my own personal self-conscious issues. I really do appreciate the fact that someone changed me." I said quietly.

"Why in heavens' name would a gorgeous girl like you have self-conscious issues?" Mrs. Cullen asked quietly to herself before turning back to me. "Isabella dear, you are beautiful and flawless. Have I not been saying that? You have no need to be conscious about your body."

"Thank you, Mrs. Cullen." I said softly with a small smile on my face.

"Alright, Isabella. This is where that is going to end." Mrs. Cullen said with a very stern and frightening expression on her face making me instantly terrified that I had said or done something to offend her.

"Never and I repeat: never call me Mrs. Cullen again. There are two things I think about when I hear Mrs. Cullen and that is my mother-in-law and Carlisle's first wife and both those women can just burn in hell for all I care. Feel free to call me Esme, mama or just about anything else except Mrs. Cullen."

"Of course Esme," I said as relief colored my voice. "I thought I had just done something to offend you but please just call me Bella." I said softly.

"Well then Bella, would you be a dear and join the family for dinner?" Esme asked as she quickly stood and walked over to an enormous pile of clothing that was at the foot of my bed.

"I don't want to intrude." I mumbled as I turned to go back to sleep. Just as my head hit the pillows, Esme pulled me back up.

"Oh no you don't! You will sleep after you have put something in that stomach of yours." She said as she held out a robe which matched perfectly with the nightgown I was wearing.

Pouting, I reluctantly got up and dressed myself in the robe before slipping on a pair of very furry bedroom slippers.

"Come along now," Esme smiled as she pulled me out the door and into the corridor.

For several minutes we were both silent as if neither of us knew what to say.

"Esme," I asked cautiously, "do you mind telling me about your family?"

"Well there isn't much I can tell. I am forbidden, to an extent, by the Il Trono."

"Il what?" I asked; both complete confused and captivated at the way the words sound rolling out of Esme's mouth

"Il Trono." Esme answered with a chuckle. "It's Italian. It translates to 'The Throne.' In the Mafia world, each region has a head elected by the various Mafia Dons. For instant, North America, there are twenty-one Dons. Every seven years, these Dons will meet and elect what we call Signore del Sangue or Blood Lord. Now since the Mafia existed, the world has been divided as into parts, forty-two parts to be exact, each having one Signore del Sangue. Now after a fourteen year period as passed, all the Signore del Sangue meet for one day and on that one day, seven men out of the forty-two present are chosen to form the head of the entire Mafia world and those seven men make up what is know as the Il Trono."

"Wow," I said softly as I tried desperately to wrap my mind around what Esme was telling me.

"Wait!" I screamed when my mind fully caught up with what I heard, "Aren't you prevented from telling me what you just told me?" I asked, on the verge of hysteria.

"No," Esme answered as she turned a corner and looped her arm around my waist. "I didn't tell you anything that the world did not already know."

"I did not know that and I am part of the world." I laughed nervously as sweat started to appear on my forehead.

"Well maybe I should rephrase. I did not tell you anything that the cops did not already know." Esme said as we walked.

"Maybe this is not so much of a good idea. I don't want to impose." I said as I chickened out and was very much about to make a run for it.

"No, you will be joining us little missy. We definitely have space for one more." Esme said as she tightened her hold on my waist.

"Esme, I am terrified. What if I do the wrong thing or say the wrong thing? I mean: look at this house. So far, everything I have seen is worth more money than I have and I have a lot and for the love of the holy butterbean, I am in a nightgown, robe and furry slippers and you are in…what is that Vera Wang? You're wearing Vera Wang, aren't you? Holy Guacamole!" I exclaimed, slightly out of breath.

"Firstly Isabella, calm down! The last thing you want is to have a panic attack in this house. Carlisle and Edward will have you hyped up on anti-anxiety drugs so fast you will believe in unicorns and fairies and have it will have you looking for a leprechaun with the pot of gold. Secondly, I am not wearing Vera Wang. This is actually a one of a kind Valentino."

"Was that supposed to make me feel better?" I asked as I wiggled in Esme's arms.

"And thirdly," Esme continued as if I had not interrupted her, "I speak for the entire family when I say that you could have walked into that dining room dressed in a tutu saying that you're the Queen of England and everyone in that room will bow down to you and will not question you. You're family, Isabella. So deal!"

"Esme, how old are you?"

"Forty-six." She said in an off-hand manner.

"Seriously?"

"Yes, why?" She asked as she looked at me through the corner of her eyes.

"You act so young."

"I am." She exclaimed.

"You keep telling yourself that." I whispered.

"Now, are you ready?" Esme asked as she stopped in front of a doorway.

"No," I said pulling back from the doorway and tightening my hold on her hand.

"Bella sweetie, I promise you that nothing will happen. I will be here." Esme whispered as tears pooled in her eyes, no doubt seeing the fear in my eyes.

Esme waited until I nodded before we entered into the room.

"See, dear. I told you we had room for one more." Esme said with a watery smile.

Before I could take in anything in the room, I felt something slam into my body, holding it tightly. Fear surged through me and before I could register what happened, I pushed the offending object away from me.

"Isabella! Rosie!" I heard people scream out before I turned my body around and buried myself in Esme's arms as she allowed me to cling to her.

"Bella, it's alright. It was only Rosalie." Esme said softly in my ear as she continued to rub my back.

"Oh God!" I cried burying myself into Esme's shoulder as I tried to regain my composure.

"What is wrong with you, Isabella?" I heard a man roar from behind me; causing me to cringe. "She was just trying to hug you, you bitch!"

"Emmett!" The voice of Carlisle Cullen rang though the room, forcing everyone into silence. "You are a very brave man to speak to any woman in that manner especially in my presence. You are a fool in love. That I get but do not let the love you feel for you wife be the reason why you can not show any respect to another who reacted in fear."

"Yes, Father." I heard Emmett respond as Esme continued to sooth away my fears.

After several minutes, no one said or did anything as they waited for me to calm down. Finally, I was able to pull away from Esme.

"Are you alright, dear?" Esme asked kindly.

"Yeah," I said softly before turning to address to room at large. It was only then I noticed the sheer awe and power that existed within the Cullen Family.

Standing at the head of the table, was none other than Carlisle Cullen himself. Nothing about his physical presence had changed over the years. He stood like a God; his posture straight and rigid. His blond hair was swept from his face revealing his piercing blue eyes. His gaze was soft yet carried a certain power than I felt myself bowing my head slight in a sign of respect. Standing a few steps behind him was the timeless beauty that was Rosalie Hale. The last time I had seen her, she was covered in bruises from the attack but now as I saw her without the hindrance of bandages and ointments, I finally saw the true extent for her beauty and it left me feeling inadequate and even more self-conscious than before. When she saw me looking at her, she smiled softly through her own tears. It was then I realized that we were sisters; bonded and united by the pain we had experienced on that night six years ago.

Her back was pressed against the chest of the most intimidating man I had ever seen. This was Emmett no doubt. His stance was that of a man ready to defend and kill anyone who threatened his family and right now he saw me as that threat. His gaze was cold with a slightly demented looking behind them as they burned through me like a wild fire. I could see the hatred and disgust he held for me and I could not help but be afraid as I continued to look at him. Sensing my fear, Carlisle turned his head slightly in Emmett's direction and without having to say a word, Emmett finally turned his gaze away from me but I still noticed the way that his hands clinched into fist as he turned his face away.

Standing in front of a large fire place, was another couple. I could not help the smile that bloomed on my face as I took these two in. They were nothing alike yet perfectly blended together. The woman reminded me of a drugged-up pixie. The excitement and joy she radiated permeated throughout the room with a fragrance all its own while the man standing with her stood stoic and unmoving looking very much like a solider. I did not know the names of these two but knew that these were two you never wanted to cross.

As if the woman knew that I was about to ask them their names, she spoke up before I could even open my mouth.

"Hello, Isabella." The pixie of a woman said in a wind-chime type of voice. "My name is Alice and this is my husband, Jasper."

"Hello." I responded softly.

And then that left the last of the Cullens.

Edward Cullen.

As I turned to look at him, I realized that he, in fact, was not paying attention to what had happened at all. Instead his attention was focused solely on the little boy who was seated next to him.

"His son," I heard Esme whisper into my ears before she pulled me over to where Edward sat. "Matthew, sweetheart, this is Bella. She will be staying with us." Esme said as she reached the little boy.

"Bella, Matthew." Esme said in introduction.

"Hello, Matthew," I said as I stooped down so that I was level with him but was smart enough to keep a good distance away as to not frighten him.

After hearing my voice, he turned his face over to where I was. It was almost comical but at the same time, adorable the way his eyes widened when he saw me as she sucked on his thumb.

"Girw." He squeaked even though his thumb was still in his mouth.

"That's right, bud. This is a girl. Her name is Isabella." I heard Edward say as he stooped down next to me.

"Da!" He squealed reached for Edward now completely distracted.

Chuckling, Edward stood then held out his hand for me so that I could stand. It happened as soon as my hand slipped into his: the electricity, the current, the attraction.

I could not help the fact that I jumped when I felt this strange feeling pulsing through me. I knew Edward felt it too because, sure enough, his sharp, burning gaze soon turned on me.

Thankfully, Esme broke through the already building tension and called me over to where she now stood with Mr. Cullen.

"This is your seat from now on, dear." She said as she guided me to the seat directly to the left of Mr. Cullen. "I think we all should be seated for dinner." Esme said to the room at large and instantly everyone walked forward to their respective seats.

"Isabella, how are you feeling?' Mr. Cullen asked as he took his seat at the head of the table.

"A bit groggy but with a bit of sleep I should be fine." I said with a small smile as I twisted my hands nervously in my lap.

"No need to be nervous, Isabella." Alice said as she slid into the seat next to me. "Relax."

"Please, I have one request?" I asked out loud.

"And what is that?" Mr. Cullen asked as he placed his napkin on his lap.

"Call me Bella. Isabella reminds me of the times I was in trouble as a child." I whined.

"Alright." Mr. Cullen said as he agreed. "Now shall we say grace and have dinner or are we waiting on your wife, Edward?"

"No. Whenever she returns, she can have dinner if she so chooses." Edward responded instantly as he locked eyes with me causing the fire to reignite under my skin.

"Alright. Let's pray." Mr. Cullen said as we joined our hands together. "Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for guiding us through another day. We humbly ask that You bless us and the food that we are about to consume. In Your Name we prayer. Amen."

And as soon as the prayer was said they dug into, what looked like, a five-star restaurant meal.

"Everything okay, Bella? Your plate kinda looks empty." Rosalie said as she looked over at me.

"Rosalie, I'm sorry for what I did just now. It was kind of a reflex reaction." I said softly feeling all types of repentant only to have her laugh at me.

"Bella! It's alright." She said with a chuckle. "Now pile the food onto that plate and start eating."

But I never got the chance to 'pile the food on' as Rosalie put it since Alice bet me to it and within seconds, I had a mountain of food in front of me.

"I don't think she'll be able to eat all that Alice." Jasper said as he took a sip of his own wine.

"So?" She shrugged.

And that was basically all the conversations that occurred during dinner san for a few words said here and there.

We were all finished eating when a beautiful woman pranced into the dining room.

"Hello everyone." She said to the room as she walked over to Edward.

"Hello husband." She purred as she leaned down to peck him on the lips but before she could, Alice spoke out.

"Tanya, please don't. I happened to like the dinner served tonight and I don't feeling like bringing it back up."

"Excuse me, Mary Alice. He is my husband so please do mind your own business."

"Oh please! Why don't you do the world a favor and just die? No one likes you here. Why do you even bother to stay?"

"Because Eddie wants me." Tanya replied but it was the look of sheer disgust and pain that flashed across Edward's face that had me choking back my laughter. However, apparently, I did not do a very good job because she soon turned to look at me.

"Oh hello. I am Tanya, Edward's wife."

"Hello, Tanya. My name is Bella."

"Oh okay." She said flippantly as she turned back to Edward.

"Why didn't you wait to have dinner with me, pookie?" She asked while pouting causing me to laugh.

"Because dinner is served every night at seven-thirty. It's not my fault you have no regard for the time. Now, please excuse me but it's time I put someone down for bed." He responded coldly as he took a sleeping Matthew into his arms.

"Why do you even care about him? Just give him to a nanny. Then we can have some fun." Tanya said in her nasal voice and made no attempt to hide her desire from anyone. From the corner of my eye, I could see Esme gag. Esme really was a bit childish but I guess it just made her, her.

"I care because he is my son!" Edward roared causing Matthew to stir in his arms. "You vile woman, why did I marry you?"

"Edward, calm yourself and go put Matthew down. After, you can meet your mother, Isabella and me in the library."

"Of course, dad. Night all." Edward said as he walked out only to be followed with three guards.

As he left, Tanya huffed and made to walk out as well only to be stopped by Mr. Cullen.

"Tanya, I think that you are forgetting your place in this family. The only reason you are tolerated is because of the fact that you share blood with Matthew. Do not make the mistake to cross me at all Tanya because I will end you where you stand. My name is Carlisle Matthew Cullen. I am neither your friend nor your father. Test me and you will disappear and you and I both know that no one will question your death."

"Are you threatening me, Mr. Cullen?" Tanya asked as she tried to sound strong and confident but truly she was terrified. I would be too because right now Mr. Cullen looked and sounded quite lethal.

"No, Tanya. I don't threaten people. I make promises. Understood?" He said as he stood.

"Yes, sir." She said as she trembled slightly

"Good. Now please get out of my sight." He barked and I looked on in a mixture of amusement and shock as she flew out of the living room.

"Oh God!" I gasped. "You're part of the Il Trono, aren't you?" I asked as I looked at Mr. Cullen.

And all I could do was register the shock look on his face before I allowed the building panic to consume me.


	7. The Oath

**The Mafia Mistress.**

**Chapter Six: The Oath.**

**Isabella's POV.**

_"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified, terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance."  
__**- FDR - First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933**_

I woke up to the calm feeling of someone running their fingers through my hair.

"Il Trono?" I heard someone say heatedly. "Really, Esme….did you have to tell her that? Could you not have waited until Edward and I spoke with her?"

"Oh relax. She asked about the family and I told her I could not tell her much because of Il Trono. Then she asked what Il Trono was so I told her. No harm done." She said as she continued to run her fingers through my hair.

"No harm done?" Mr. Cullen said sarcastically. "Esme, you were there when she fainted. I swear by the time we are done with this poor child, she would have fainted in shock so many times that she would have a concussion."

"Carlisle," Esme said as she began to speak, only to be stopped when she heard the door open.

"Is she awake yet?" I heard the voice of Edward Cullen as he entered the room.

"No, she isn't but we can't put this off since your mother already explained the politics behind the appointment of the Il Trono." Mr. Cullen said with a slight chuckle.

"Of course my mother would do that." Edward chuckled in his deep baritone which caused me to smile.

"Oh look! She's smiling. I know you're awake, Ms. Isabella Marie Swan. Up you get." Esme said as she tickled my sides causing me to shriek in surprise and fall of the couch with a thud.

"Ow!" I moaned as I curled into myself. "Why? Oh why do I always have to greet the ground this way?" I asked rhetorically causing Esme to burst into laughter.

"Not funny Esme!" I yell-whispered.

"Let me help you up, Bella darling." Mr. Cullen said with a small smile as he reached down for me.

"Thank you, Mr. Cullen." I said as my cheeks burned crimson.

"Not Mr. Cullen, Bella. Call me Carlisle, papa or anything else. It's rude to have a family member addressing me so formally. Don't you think?" He said as he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear before seating me to a chuckling Esme.

"I don't like you anymore, Esme." I said very childishly while pouting. "Carlisle is my new favorite." I said.

"Okay enough you too. You would swear you two were children." Carlisle said as he took a seat opposite us and next to Edward, who had stayed very silent throughout the entire exchange.

"Alright Bella. There are a lot of things that you need to become aware of but I will try to keep it short since we have all had a very long day. Firstly, I am sorry for what I am about to tell you but from this moment on you are considered to be a Cullen. As a result, you may never leave here unless supervised and with heavy security."

"What?" I asked dumbfounded as my hands began to shake in utter fright.

"Bella, sweetie, calm down and listen to what I have to say." Carlisle continued in his signature paternal voice. "Because of what happened six years ago when you father passed on, your family attracted some very unwanted attention from the King mafia family. You have to understand that with your father's death their family and the dealings within their family where brought out and in the direct gaze of the police. Everything became compromised in that family. It was a chain reaction. Before your father, the King Family was at the top of the pack but after your father's death and the fact that the police has gotten into every inch of their dealings, a lot of bad blood and hatred surfaced. Remember not only was the King Family affected but every single family that once dealt with The Kings. Do you understand the magnitude of this, Bella?" Carlisle asked as he stopped for a minute.

"So basically there are several mafia families out there who want my blood to flow?"

"Exactly. For the last six years, I thought I was doing you a favor by allowing you to live your life and keeping you out of the dealings of the mafia but I was wrong. You needed the comfort of a family; the comfort I now readily offer."

"Okay?" I said even though it sounded more like a question than an actually answer.

"You're confused, Bella." I heard Edward say for the first time sine this meeting actually began.

"To an extent." I said as my mind whirled ahead as it pieced together everything I was ever told about the mafia by my father, Charlie and what I was being told tonight.

"Tell me and maybe I will be able to help with your obvious confusion." Edward said in a very soothing voice as he got up and took a seat next to me.

"So all this protecting you will be doing is solely because of the fact that mafia men want me dead and you feel guilty because the reason they want me dead is because my father, while trying to protect an innocent girl, killed one of the bastards and left their organization in shambles?" I asked in a cool and calm voice.

"There are several more factors but that is that gist of it." Carlisle said with a nod of his head.

Before any of them could have predicted what I was about to do, I jumped up and threw the crystal vase that was sitting on top of the coffee table in front of me, into the wall causing it to shatter into millions of pieces.

"You have got to be kidding me! If I am so much of a burden that you feel guilty that my father is dead and now you're stuck protecting his grief stricken daughter, why don't you off me yourself? Pay one of your men to pull the trigger or why don't you man up and pull it yourself? Huh?" I shouted as the unexplainable rage and grief coursed through me.

"Isabella, we don't mean it that way!" Esme cried out. "We want to help you. Yes, your father's death is a part of the reason as to why we have decided the help you but not the main reason."

"Lies!" I screamed. "I don't want pity. I don't want sympathy. I want to feel like I belonged somewhere; to know that I wasn't alone but this decision to keep me here is based on guilt. I don't want it. I don't want it." I sobbed over and over as I pounded my fist against my chest as I tried to beat back the building pain.

"Isabella!" I heard Edward say forcefully.

"Isabella!" He said again shaking me slightly as he grabbed a hold of my arms.

"Calm down, baby doll. Calm down." He cooed into my ear. "It's not sympathy or guilt. We want you in the family. We want to protect you and give you a home so that you know that you aren't alone. Calm down, honey." He said as he pulled me into his chest as I continued to sob.

"Carlisle, you really are a tool." I heard Esme huffed before I felt her tiny arms wrapping around both Edward and I.

"Hello, Bella." I heard Esme say next to me. "Please forgive my husband. He's not the brightest bulb in the box. It's the age.' Esme said as she squashed herself into Edward's chest having ducked under his arms.

"Esme, you are in your forties. I am sure Carlisle is not much older than you.

"Ah! But that is where you are wrong. Mr. Carlisle Matthew Cullen is fifty-three." Esme said in a loud-stage whisper.

"Alright you two. Let's stop the conference you are having on Edward's chest and Edward let them go." Carlisle said sounding a bit miffed that his age was being discussed.

"But I'm comfortable." Esme whined causing both Edward and I to chuckle.

"Esme, please, for once act your age." Carlisle grumbled as he pulled her away leaving Edward and I standing together as his hand dropped to my waist still holding me against him.

"Gosh Carlisle! What poor thing had the misfortune of crawling up your ass and died?" Esme said as Carlisle placed her I a sit next to him.

"Why did I marry you again?" Carlisle complained.

"Because you love me and because I am the mother of your children and also because of the fact that you are terrified of me." Esme said confidently.

"Greater men than me have been known to cower in fear in your presence, my dear." Carlisle said earning a smack on the chest from Esme.

"Can we just get back to the matter at hand?" Edward asked as we took the seat opposite to Carlisle and Esme.

"Of course." Carlisle said as he pulled Esme into his chest. "Now Bella, I apologize for how I phrased my reasoning just now. I had no intention of upsetting you but I honestly never expected it to be so bad."

"Expected what to be so bad?" I asked as I shifted uncomfortably as all the Cullens were looking at me.

"Dad, wait until Jasper has spoken to her." Edward commanded before anyone could have answered my question.

"Yes, you're right." Carlisle said as Esme leaned against his shoulder.

"Well if that is all, I think I'll head back to bed." I said as I started to stand.

"That isn't all Isabella." Edward said as he pulled me back to him. "It's just that we are unsure as to how we should proceed with what we must ask." He said as he looked over at his parents as if silently begging them to take the lead on this conversation now.

With a small smile, no doubt at her son's plea, Esme jabbed Carlisle in his ribs and nodded in my direction as if telling him to start speaking. Sighing he obliged and adjusted himself before staring.

"Bella, darling, what we must ask of you is as a result of your conversation with Esme." Carlisle said as he leaned forward and grasped my hand in his. "While Esme was in her right to tell you about the Il Trono and the politics of it, it was not expected that you would be able to fit it together so fast."

"Meaning?" I implored as he took a breath.

"You figured out something that could destroy the entire Mafia world if ever told to the law enforcers." Edward said as he draped one of his arms across the back of the chair.

"Huh?" I said as I turned to look at him, his green eyes ablaze with pure, undulated power.

"Members of the Il Trono and by extension Signore del Sangue." Edward clarified.

"I was right then by saying that you are a member of Il Trono?" I asked as I cautiously looked at Carlisle who had let go of my hand and was now playing with Esme's wedding ring.

"Yes." Came his short reply before Esme took over.

"I apologize to you Bella but if the fact that you know so much gets out, the Mafia world will call for your blood." Esme said as she playfully pulled her hand from Carlisle's hand only to have him pull it back towards him.

"I mean it not like they don't want me dead already." I scoffed.

"Well aside from those, if word got out then even those we consider to be allies will call for your blood." Esme said as she silently begged me to understand.

"So what do we do to prevent that?" I asked as I looked over at Edward.

"We perform an Il Giuramento di Sangue." He murmured in his deep, velvet voice.

"A what?" I asked complete confused and terrified.

"It's a blood oath ceremony in which you will signify your loyalty to the family and officially join the Mafia world as a member of the Cullen Mafia Family." Edward translated.

"I can't do that Edward." I stuttered as I struggled to pull my hand away.

"Isabella, please be reasonable. You have to do this or else I should, according to Mafia law, be pumping your body full of lead bullets." Carlisle said as he made his way over to us.

"No please no. I can't swear loyalty to an organization like this. Please!" I cried desperately as I continued to fight against Edward's hold but the man was relentless. He just would not give in a let me go. Instead he pulled me closer to his chest, trapping my hands between our bodies and locking his around my back effectively stopping my movements.

"Isabella, listen to me!" Edward growled into my ear. "Firstly, stop being so goddamn stubborn and let as do the fucking blood oath if not: say the word and I will end you right now. I will not let your petulant behavior endanger my family. Do you understand me?"

"Edward, she's afraid son' Esme said soothingly from somewhere behind us.

"No, she is being stupid." Edward hissed before he threw me to the next end of the couch before standing.

"We are trying to protect you Isabella. All we ask is for you to trust us with this ceremony but you decided to freak the hell out. Damn it, Isabella we are trying to protect you why won't you let us?"

"Because, I am afraid." I cried as I stood to face him allowing the tears that I long kept at bay to flow. "My father was the chief of police and he painted the mafia to be these cruel heartless men. Now here I am being forced to realize that isn't so and then to be told I have to swear my loyalties to the same institution that I have hated for the last six years? Tell me Edward; how am I not supposed to be afraid."

"Isabella." Esme started towards me only to be pulled back by Carlisle.

"If you are so afraid then why are you here, Isabella? Why didn't you just tell us no when we came for you today?" Edward said in a controlled voice.

"I don't know." I sobbed as I fell into the couch.

"Isabella if you choose to play a game of chance with your own life, please have the courtesy to tell us so that we will not waste our resources and time protecting someone, who in the end, just simply wants to die." Edward said coldly before turning and leaving us in the room.

"Come, dear," I heard Carlisle say before ushering Esme out the room, "Isabella needs to think." And with that I heard the door close behind me and darkness surrounded me.

I had no idea how long I was left to my own devices in Carlisle's office. It could have been days, weeks, months but I wasn't sure. I had no real time maker except for the two meals that were brought to me everyday.

I had a lot to work through and I was secretly very thankful that the Cullens had left me along even though I would have greatly appreciated a bed and some clean clothes once in while but I did not have the strength in me to bother since all the thinking I was doing was greatly draining my strength.

I had made myself comfortable on the sofa when I heard a knock on the door. Expecting it to be my food delivery, I called whoever it was at the door in. However I was very wrong.

"Good afternoon Isabella." I heard the chilling voice of Emmett Cullen say.

"Good afternoon, Emmett." I said as I cowered away from him.

"You have caused some discourse in the family." He continued as if he had not heard my greeting. "And I do not like it. I do not like the fact that a relative stranger knows a lot about this family. It is unacceptable. What makes this even more outrageous is the fact that had this been anyone else they would already be dead but my father, brother and even my father-in-law have all ordered that you are not to be touched until you have made a decision. So now I ask you a question: have you made a decision. Isabella?" He asked looking at me with cold calculating eyes.

"No, I haven't" I stuttered out as I stood and back away from him.

"Well then," He said as a smirk grew onto his face. "That just won't do."

Before I could register what he was doing, Emmett lunged at me, pinning my body to the wall while securing one of his hand around my throat and squeezing slightly but enough to obstruct my airflow.

"Now, Isabella. I was all for protecting you but when you pushed my Rosie, well that was just wrong and then you endanger this family further by not pledging loyalty. Well we are going to fix that." He said menacingly.

With his free hand, he pulled out a knife from the jacket he wore and made a very precise and deep cut horizontally on my arm. As soon as the rusty scent hit me, I could feel the dizziness start as my knees buckled. Sensing that he only had seconds until I passed out, Emmett quickly collected a vile of my blood before pulling out a piece of paper where he pressed my bloody palm against it.

"Now repeat after me: In my own blood, I swear allegiance to this family. Should my loyalty ever weaver, I shall spill that which is left in me."

"I can't." I said; my speech slightly slurred.

"Yes you can't or else I will be putting a bullet in your skull." Emmett growled and I could feel a cool piece of steel on my temple.

"I-n-n…." I started only to stop as I started gasping for air, crawling at his bear hands, begging him to loosen his hold as he slowly tightened his hold.

"I don't have time for this." He roared before I heard the unmistakable sound of the safety clip of the gun being moved. "Say hello to your father for me."

Out of sheer fear, I could feel urine running down my legs and even through my embarrassment, I hoped he would not notice but unfortunately he did.

"Did you just pee yourself?" He asked sounding shocked and even compassionate.

At once, the pressure around my throat disappeared and I crumpled to the ground, falling in a puddle of my own blood and urine.

"Miss Bell…" I heard the voice of the maid who brought my food say before the sound of china and fine silvers hit the floor. "Master Emmett what happened?" the maid asked as she pulled my head onto her lap as I started to fade into unconsciousness.

But before he could answer, the sound of a gun firing echoed throughout the office followed by a groan of pain and the voice of Jasper Whitlock.

"I shall not be surprised if you die for this Emmett." He said in an eerily calm voice.

"Jasper," I called out softly as my throat prevented me from speaking loudly.

"Hush Bella." He said as he picked me up and cradled me to his chest. "Let's get you cleaned and patched up."

"No listen…." I started before we were once again interrupted by Carlisle and Edward.

"Jasper what happened?" Edward asked as he took me into his arms.

"One minute. Isabella wanted to say something. Go on Bella" Jasper said and with that all three men fell silent to hear.

"In my own blood, I swear allegiance to this family. Should my loyalty ever weaver, I shall spill that which is left in me." I said softly before closing my eyes.

But even as the darkness took me once again, I knew within my heart and soul that fear of Emmett and fear of what he was capable of was the only thing that sealed my faith with the Cullen Mafia Family.


	8. The Fight For Life

AN:

Hello!

I normally don't do this but I have to address an issue that came up recently. One reader was upset over the fact that I had painted Emmett as the bad guy in the story so far. All I can say is that I am sorry but that is how it is going to be for a while, not for the length of the story. Also, at the risk of sounding like a complete bitch, I already stated that there will be times that things will be out of character. Since the beginning of the story I have painted Esme as a woman with a playful, child-like personality at times but you aren't upset over that.

But anyway...I have a little favor to ask of you. As we all know, Matthew has autism. Personally, I have had no real knowledge about autism except for the research I have done and truly I believe that there was some things research could never say. So what I would like to ask is that for anyone who has had experience dealing with children with autism, to please shed some insiders light on this please. Thank you.

And now having said all that... THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS! I LOVED THEM!

So keep it coming and ENJOY!

**Disclaimer on Profile.**

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Chapter Seven: The Fight For Life.**

**Edward's POV.**

"_People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that's bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they're afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It's all in how you carry it. That's what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you're letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain."_ _~Jim Morrison._

It was with a heavy heart that my parents and I walked out of that room that night and left Bella to her own devices. My mother in particular, was very distraught; not even being able to support her own weight as she leaned heavily against my father. I knew in my own mind that I had been a bit harsh with the way I had dealt with things but Isabella needed to understand the severity of what she was now trapped in and she would not be able to do so until she comprehended it willingly.

"So we leave her and let her work through it?" I asked my father as we walked with heavy minds back to our rooms.

"Yes, and I sent some men along with Jasper and Alice to retrieve anything Bella might need from her apartment." My father said as he tried to soothe my mother as her tears fell relentlessly.

"Well there isn't anything more that we could do so I suggest that we just leave her and let her be. We should also get Jasper to speak with her as soon as possible. Her depression is out of control." I said as we continued to walk through the almost deserted house save for the guards who were on night patrol.

"I know, son." My father responded as he placed a delicate kiss on my mother's forehead reminding me of the love I yearned for. "We'll also inform the family about this tomorrow. For now go get some rest." He said gently as he pulled my mother down the corridor leading to their room.

My mind was racing as I walked alone to my room. I could not stop think about the depth of pain Bella felt and it killed me to know that this could have been prevented. With a heavy heart and mind, I made my way to my son's room. Quietly I snuck in, picked him up and carried him to the guestroom where, I allowed his pure unattained scent to lull me to sleep.

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The next morning found the entire Cullen family gathered around the table sans Isabella. Matthew had been very happy since he woke up next to me. Currently he was cradled in his grandfather's arms as my mother doted on him while she fed him some fruit.

I have an announcement to make." My father said as he caught some of Matthew's dribble with his napkin. "Last night Edward and I spoke to Isabella about the problems that have arisen now that she is a member of the family. We also spoke to her about taking the oath to swear her loyalty to the family. She refused." He said bluntly causing everyone, including my vapid wife, to snap their heads up in shock.

"What do you mean she refused, father?" Emmett asked in a strained voice.

"I mean that until further notice, Isabella is not allowed to leave my office which is also going to be on twenty-four hour surveillance. In three days time, Edward and I will go back to see if she has reached her decision and from there we will proceed. Until then no-one is allowed in that room except for the maid who has been assigned to Isabella's care. È chiaro?"

"Yes, father." We all chorused and returned to our meal but our thoughts remained on Isabella and the choice she had to make.

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After three torturous days, Isabella's time had come to an end and I, reluctantly handed my son over to my mother as I left to meet my father.

"Are you alright son?" My fathers asked as I neared where he stood.

"I hope she chose right father. If not I don't think I could…." I started to say but my father cut me off.

"She will make the right decision and by tonight she will be seated at the table enjoying dinner with us and playing with her cat and puppy and from what I have heard they both are apparently quite taken with my grandson."

"I know," I said with a chuckle as we made our way to my father's office, "Matthew spent the night curled up with the Rottweiler while the cat kept guard over both of them. It really was quite funny." I said

"You know…," My father started to say before we were cut of by the sound of a shot being fired.

Quickly and without hesitation, we both drew our guns as we took of in a dead sprint in the direction of the noise; speeding up when we realized the shot came from my father's office.

"God no!" I cried as we finally reached but before we could get into the office, Jasper stepped out cradling a bloody and broken Isabella in his arms.

"Jasper what happened?" I asked as I dropped my gun into my father's waiting hand and took Isabella into my arms. Instantly I smelt the pungent odor of urine mixed in with her blood causing my anger to flair.

"One minute. Isabella wanted to say something. Go on Bella" Jasper said and with that we all fell silent to hear.

"In my own blood, I swear allegiance to this family. Should my loyalty ever weaver, I shall spill that which is left in me." She said softly before closing her eyes.

"Bella!" I exclaimed slightly panicked as she lost consciousness.

"Shock." Jasper said as his medical training kicked into high gear. "Carry her to her room. I'll meet you there after I escort Emmett to a holding cell."

"Emmett?" My father asked in shock as he gently stroked Isabella's hair away from her face.

"He was the one who caused this dad. I was on my way to talk with Isabella before you all got here. She is one of us dad and I know that this family would not have survived had she not taken the oath." Jasper said as he put his gun away.

"What the fuck was he thinking?" My father swore before he barreled his way into his office with an outraged cry.

"Jasper, call mom and tell her to meet me in your wing of the house. Emmett and Rosalie reside too close to the room where Isabella is staying. I don't want him anywhere near her."

"That is if he survives. Dad is furious with him, Edward."

"I know, Jasper but he is the son-in-law of Jonathon Hale and Rosalie is pregnant."

"What? Rose is what? How do you know that?

"I'm a Don, Jasper. We know everything. Call mom." I said before I took of with Isabella in my arms.

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"Oh God! What happened?" My mother cried as she saw Isabella's battered body in my arms.

"Emmett happened." I responded coldly unable to keep the venom out of my voice.

"What?" My mother stuttered as I laid Isabella on the bed.

"He did this but whatever he did, he got her to swear her allegiances to the family."

"Oh but that was not right. Not right at all. Oh! Look at her neck." My mother cried as she hurriedly began to remove Isabella's clothing.

"She may need a shower mom. He made her pee herself." I said glumly as my mother cried over Isabella's body.

"You're right. Go get Alice and call Brianna as well. I assigned her, permanently, to Isabella's care this morning." My mother ordered as she hurried into the bathroom to prepare a bath for Isabella.

With one last look at Isabella, I left in search of Alice and Brianna. After telling them that my mother required their assistance, I left to find my father.

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I was not shocked in the least sense when I found him in la forca, which simply translated to the gallows. La forca was the one place no woman, be her servant or wife, was allowed to enter. It was the place where traitors enter and very few left, but not without a very sever punishment, if they left at all.

Emmett looked pitiful in the holding cell. All you could hear from him was an indistinguishable stream of italian. He paced back and forth like a caged animal, stopping at moments to pound his fist into the wall or slap himself.

"What did I miss?" I asked Jasper as I entered the viewing room.

"Besides the fact that Dad threw his ass in here himself and told him the start making peace with himself and God, after he patched him up a bit. Nothing much." He shrugged nonchanlantly.

"Patched him up?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I shot him. Reflex action." He responded simply.

"He's going to end him." I said, not shocked at all with the events that were unfolding..

"Seems that way. Emmett asked to speak with you when you came. He said you would listen. I am going to patch Isabella up as best as I can and lrt you deal with him." Jasper said; slapping me on my shoulder as he left.

Sighing, I walked over to the door and handed the guard my jacket and gun as I stepped into the holding cell.

"Edward!" Emmett exclaimed as soon as he saw me. "I did not mean for things to turn out that way." He said in a rush. " I knew she was afarid of me so I thought that I could use that to my advantage and get her to say the oath. Really I did not mean for things to turn out this way."

"Emmett, Stai zitto tu stupido, ragazzo insolente! Avete idea di quello che hai causato?" I roared, causing Emmett to recoil slightly. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about Rosalie and this family. It is my job to protect this family, Edward. My oath was different to yours but, just like you, I live by that oath. You can't fault me for that." He said as he sank down to the groundgrimacing slightly from his injury.

"You're right I can't fault you for that but I can fault you for possibly destroying this family. I have to go and speak with dad and Emmett, I just want you to know that there is a very high chance you may not make it out of here alive. I am sorry brother but this is the Mafia."

"I know. If things don't go my way could I please have a minute with Rosalie. Last request and all. "

All I did was nod as I walked out fighting the lump in my throat knowing that could very well be the last moment that I may ever see my brother.

"Mr. Cullen, your father would like to see you now." The guard said as he handed me back my belongings.

"Where is he?" I asked as I slipped on my jacket.

"In the room down the hall, sir." The young boy said and with that I left.

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.

.

"You wanted to see me, father?" I asked as I entered the room.

"Yes, son. It seems that we are incapable of making a just and unbiased decision when it comes to Emmett." My father said; his voice cold and unwelcoming.

"Oh come on Carlisle. I never said that. What I said is that I would sleep better at night knowing that I had a say too. After all I don't want my daughter to be widowed at such a young age." Jonathon Hale said from where he was seated at the corner of the room.

"When did he arrive?" I asked my father knowing very well where this was headed.

"About five minutes ago. Rosalie called apparently and now he is here." My father responded taking a seat of his own while rolling up his sleeves.

"She moves fast." I grumbled to myself.

"Well, let's get to it then." I said to Mr. Hale as I mirriored my father's actions.

"You Cullens don't waste time. Well then," He said as she pulled out a knife and cut his palm allowing his blood to fall into the candle next to him. "My name is Jonathon Hale, Don of the Hale Mafia Family for the last thirty years. I have come here today under the oath I took for my daughter on the day of her birth and with a father's heart, I request that Carlisle Matthew Cullen, member of Il Trono and Edward Anthony Cullen, Don of the Cullen Mafia Family, give me an audience as I petition of the life of my son-in-law, Emmett Dale Cullen, Sleeper of the Cullen Mafia Family. As my blood burns, I call to order una riunione di sangue."

Sighing, my father reached over and cut his hand and repeating the action done by Mr. Hale, allowed his blood to fall into the flame effectively sealing us away from the world until a decision was reached.

"So requested. So allowed." He said before blowing out the candle locking us all in the debate that would determine if my brother lived or died and for once in my life, I prayed bloodshed would not be the answer..

Translations:

È chiaro: Is that clear?

_Una riunione di sangue__: A blood meeting._

Stai zitto tu stupido, ragazzo insolente! Avete idea di quello che hai causato?: Shut up you stupid, insolent boy! Do you have any idea what you have caused?


	9. The Decision is Made

**Disclaimer on Profile.**

**Blog Link On Profile.**

Before we get into the story, I would just like to say Happy New Year to everyone. May it be a blessed year for all.

And secondly, I want to experiment and see if we could get to fifty reviews. Not that Chapter Nine is already written and waiting to be published. It's titled The Angel of Mercy and we see Bella and Edward bonding. So let's see how successful this experiment is.

Having said that read and enjoy.

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Chapter Eight: The Decision Is Made.**

**Emmett's POV**

_A Husband's/ Father's Pledge_

_Rodney D. Coates_

_ 1) I will work continuously to earn the name husband and father from my wife, children, my family, and my peers. I know that being a husband and a father is something that is learned, practiced, and rehearsed. I know that I can do this, that I can achieve this -through patience, inspiration, and prayer._

_ 2) I will embrace my wife, children, and my family with respect, authenticity, and honesty. I will lead by service, I will learn by sharing, I will become by giving all that is within me -as I devote myself to my family._

_ 3) I will become transparent, I will become the embodiment of love and caring, I will seek to demonstrate my commitment to my wife, my children, and my family as a daily part of my being._

_ 4) I will exemplify patience, I will show forgiveness, and I will work with my wife and family to create a home where creativity is welcomed, difference is celebrated, and time is shared._

_ 5) I will love learning, I will worship wisdom, and I will cherish contemplation as I demonstrate to my family the value of truth, honor, and devotion._

_ 6) I will be open to criticism, available for discussions, and eagerly anticipate date nights, family outings, and the joy of sharing as a family._

_ 7) I will guard my thoughts, my home, and my behavior as I seek to model sober, mature and consistent values that uplift my wife, children, and family._

_ 8) I will never judge in haste, punish in wrath, or practice vengeance either within or outside the confines of my wife, children, and family._

_ 9) I will work with my wife to create a home that is a place of learning, spirituality, and devotion to God, life, and our family._

_ 10) I will, as a husband and father always respect, value, and cherish my wife, children and family not for what they are but for who they are._

_._

_._

_._

I felt like a caged animal. The pain from my leg was hard to bear. I knew Jasper did some damage and as much as I wanted to sink to the floor and just cry out from the pain, I would not; I could not.

I could still remember the night my father called me to his office to tell me that Rosalie had been attacked. I never knew rage until that very moment. I wanted to kill, I wanted blood and I wanted it immediately so I stormed out of his office to do just that.

I was already out the house when Edward found me and told me that there had been a complication in regards to Rosalie; a complication that would put the entire organization in the direct view of the law and that complication had a name and that name was Charlie Swan.

It was never that I was not thankful for what he had done for Rosalie. If he had not intervened the bastards would have been killed and the problem would have been solved with no repercussions to follow but then again if he had not intervened then I might not have gotten to call Rosalie my wife and because of that I was undoubtedly and unconditionally tied to the Swan family like it or not.

So when the man who ties you to a family dies, the next thing left to do is take care of his family and his family consisted of one person and that person was Isabella Marie Swan: college graduate.

I can without a doubt say that I never hated Isabella. What I hated was the hold she had on the family. No one could function knowing that she suffered because of what had happened. Once a month when my father gave the family an update on Isabella, everyone waited with baited breaths to find out if she was well.

And then Edward found out the truth; the secret we kept from him for the last six years, and he single-handedly set in motion 'Operation Bring Isabella Home' when he, in less than ten minutes, figured out the depth of pain Isabella was in when we, the ones who knew about this for the last six years, were clueless.

The wait to get Isabella was torturous. I spent the majority of time thinking of her pain and I felt anger with myself. Here I was living a full and generally happy life where I went home to my wife everyday and saw both of my parents; both health and happy while Isabella lived a life of isolation and loneliness.

It was not long before anger turned into self-loath so much so that I spoke with Jasper who surprisingly empathized with me.

The first night she was at the manor, she was frightened, terrified even and I was happy. She was finally in an environment where she could have a family and where she would be protected. I honestly cannot say why I reacted the way I did when she pushed Rosalie away but I knew the reason I reacted at all.

At the risk of sounding like a little girl who is now sharing her feelings, I blame my actions on the fact that I felt that Isabella was rejecting the family; pushing the family away. I felt like she wanted nothing from us and that angered me. How dare she? All we wanted to do was help; help her through her grief and while Rosalie understood and accepted Isabella's apology, I stewed in my anger.

Time passed and I remained unmoved in my anger towards Isabella's action. Mind you I was never anger at her but rejection always leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth.

And then it came to her taking the oath and she refused. I was blind with worry as to what that would mean and the worry was never for Rosalie or myself, contrary to popular belief. My father and Edward while both just and fair, were known for quick action. They were never ones to wait around and see how thing play out.

So again after allowing my emotions to take control, I cornered Isabella and forced her to take the oath, leaving me feeling horrible but at the same it, I would do it again because it meant she was one of us. It meant that she had a family. It meant she had a home and if I died for this I would have no regrets because it would mean that my sister was safe.

**Edward's POV****.**

While rare, it was not unheard of for a blood meeting to be called but even when the occurrence of such a meeting had last taken place over forty-five years ago, the deep significance of this meeting was far from diminished.

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In the records of Il Trono, the first Riunione di Sangue was called by the brother of the founding father of the Mafia, Stephan Malakov, after he had been wronged by a drug lord from Peru. Malakov had called the meeting and petitioned for the elimination of the Drug Lord's blood-line.

After having heard the arguments brought forth by Malakov, on the 24th of May,1703, fifty-three people who all shared blood with the drug lord, Daniel Pacotelli, either directly or through a pumpkin vine relation, was killed and while the Mafia was against the slaughtering of women and children, the order given to those handling the Malakov-Pacotelli matter, null and voided all law of protection, and along with Pacotelli and his men, nineteen women and children died that night resulting in the first Notte di Sangue in the history of Il Trono.

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Sir Isaac Newton's third law of motion: For every action there is and equal and opposite reaction and it was that very principle that found Jonathon Hale, my father and myself looked away from the world as we debated the course of action to take with regards to one of our own.

For the last five hours, Jonathon Hale reminded my father and me of everything about Emmett from the time and date that he was born to the time and date that it came out that Rosalie was now scheduled to bring forth another Cullen into the world.

Except for the heavy sighs and occasional eye roll, one would have thought that my father actually cared about what was being said to him but I knew my father and he was anything but happy. In truth he was absolutely livid and truly hated Jonathon Hale at the moment and I could not see myself disagreeing with his anger.

After all, there was nothing more irritating to a man in a powerful position than when another man was is beneath him tries to school him and by extension undermines his authority.

"You know, if this had been Edward, we would not have even been here." Jonathan mused out loud.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" My father asked as he drained his glass if scotch.

"What that means is if Edward had reacted to Isabella's reluctance to take the oath in the same manner that Emmett did, you would have already brushed it under the rug and you wouldn't have shot him and thrown him into a cell like a traitor." Jonathon fumed.

"No I would not have had to throw Edward into a cell because he would have never have done that." My father rebutted.

"He did it for the protection of the family. We can't fault it for that." Mr. Hale said, void of all emotion.

"But he was given an order not to interfere." I interjected.

"So what do you propose, Edward? Eliminate one of your best men?" Mr. Hale said sarcastically while rolling his eye.

"Jonathon, why do I get the feeling that you could care less about what is being said or what has been done?" My father stated calmly as he looked over at Mr. Hale.

"My daughter was at risk. Her husband did what he felt necessary to eliminate that risk. I can't fault him." He replied with a nonchalantly shrug.

"Do you think that I honestly did not know that your daughter was at risk? If you take a step back you will see that you are the one who should have been bearing this problem." My father responded coldly.

"I don't like what you are insinuating, Carlisle!" Mr. Hale roared as he stood quickly, pushing his chair to the floor.

"I am not insinuating anything but Charles Swan died protecting YOUR daughter. You, above all people should be striving to keep his daughter protected, happy and generally cared for but here you are doing the exact opposite." My father said calmly as my anger started to rise.

"Carlisle, what do you expect me to do? Carry her back to the Hale manor and make her my mistress?" Mr. Hale sneered as he stood up to tower over my father but my father was not fazed and simply raised his eyebrows in response to Mr. Hale's statement.

"Never would I allow such a thing," My father responded coolly. "Since the night that Charles Swan died, I have thought of Isabella as my own and she will remain in this house as one of my own until I take my last breath. If my successor," he continued as he turned his gaze on me, "feels that she is no longer welcomed here, all I could do is hope that he would have the good sense to provide and care for her knowing the place she holds in my heart."

"Isabella Swan is a Cullen now father and I would not have it any other way." I said showing my support for my father.

"Well isn't that all hunky-dory but my son-in-law is still in a cell waiting for a sentence he should not have to bear." Jonathon fumed as he threw his glass of scotch into the fireplace.

"I have heard enough, Jonathon. I made my decision the very moment that I found out that Emmett had attacked Isabella and you have done nothing to sway me from my decision."

"Carlisle, he is your son." Jonathon pleaded still fearing for Emmett's life.

"I am full aware of who he is, Jonathon. I was there in the room when he came out into this world kicking and screaming his newborn lungs out. I was the one who cut that umbilical cord. I was the one who stayed up with him when he was ill. I was the one who taught him how to ride a bike and I was the one who molded him into the Sleeper he is today."

"Having said that I am also very aware of what Emmett is capable of doing and as much as it pains me to say it but what Emmett did is not even one hundredth of what he is capable of doing."

"Finally." Jonathon exclaimed with a smile. "I knew you would see things my way."

"But the fact still remains that he when against two dons; one of those is a sitting member of Il Trono. Had this squabble escaped the confines of this house, Emmett would be dead. You will agree with me when I say that disloyalty is one thing that the Il Trono hates. Right Jonathon?"

"I do agree with you." Jonathon said with a bow of his head.

"So having said all this, I found myself in a bit of a rock and a hard place when I had to make a decision, the decision I still stand by. I have lived in this world existing as two people: Carlisle Matthew Cullen, Don and member of Il Trono and Carlisle Matthew Cullen, Husband and Father. So because of Emmett's utter stupidity, I find myself in a situation where my two lives have clashed. One part of me wants to see him suffer for all the pain he caused to my daughter while that other half wants to take him into my arms like I did when he was younger and forgive him for his crime. Knowing what I know, I am of the belief that any decision I make will be biased so I will allow another to hand down a decision."

"Well, I want him to live." Jonathon interjected.

"It is not your decision to make, you insolent little man." My father roared, his anger finally taking control. "And it will not be Edward's either." He spat.

"Well then whose decision shall it be, father?" I asked as I raised my head.

"It shall be Isabella's." My father responded. "Just like it was Rosalie's when I came to handling her attackers."

"But Carlisle, she would have him killed." Jonathon stuttered, his eyes reflecting the fear he felt for losing his son-in-law.

"No she won't." I responded. "She will let him live."

"Exactly. I know she would let him live." My father said as he stood and put on his jacket.

"Then why don't you spear him?"

"No Jonathon, I would not do that. I want Emmett to hear the words form Isabella's mouth. I want him to know that he breathes because of her. I want him to know that he will see his child brought into this world because of her. I want him to know just how much she has allowed him to have and I want it to torture him. I want him to feel guilty and I want him at her mercy."

"Carlisle, will you allow your son to suffer that way?" Jonathon screamed in outrage.

"No Jonathon, I would never allow my son to be victim of that pain but to a man who chose to go against my word then, to that man I will show no mercy. This meeting is over. Edward, go and see that Emmett is patched up and brought home while I go see to Isabella and you, Jonathon Hale, I suggest you get as far away from here as possible. You and your daughter have over-stepped so many boundaries that my anger is far from gone. You are not welcomed here at the moment and remember everything you have is because, I allowed it. I can take it all away Jonathon. Your power is blinding you to the ones who are above you. Remember you place. Just because you are a Don does not mean you are irreplaceable."

And with that my father stormed out the room leaving me smirking in awe and mirth while Jonathon Hale quivered in fear.


	10. The Angel Of Mercy

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AN: Because of a very success full experiment (i.e. the last chapter got over 50 reviews), you all get the next chapter today. But before you read this chapter I have a question: Do you think we could reach 70 reviews. If that is possible go for it. If not, you still get a chapter tomorrow, hopefully. If not tomorrow then Friday for sure.

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Chapter Nine: The Angel of Mercy.**

**Isabella's POV.**

"_What if a demon were to creep after you one night, in your loneliest loneliness, and say, 'This life which you live must be lived by you once again and innumerable times more; and every pain and joy and thought and sigh must come again to you, all in the same sequence. The eternal hourglass will again and again be turned and you with it, dust of the dust!' Would you throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse that demon? Or would you answer, 'Never have I heard anything more divine'?"_

_Friedrich Nietzsche quotes__ (__German__ classical __Scholar__, __Philosopher__ and __Critic__ of culture, __1844__-__1900__)_

Fear.

A dictionary definition of fear would be something along the lines of 'a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid,' with synonymous as terror, dismay, fright.

But never in any definition would they tell you that in that one moment you the paralysis you get or the prayer you say in your head asking that if this be your last minute that all would be well or the regrets that swim through your mind and above all else, your desire to live.

I knew the moment I saw Carlisle Cullen, six years after my father's death, that I would be tied to this family; a family that stood for everything my father was against. I had heard of what they were capable of: the families that were killed, the drugs brought in, the guns sold and then there were the politicians that they bought, the laws they had made them passing in Congress for their benefit alone.

And while the world gladly painted them as the most evil and malicious, there were still the charities and the funds they had for the needy; the charity auctions and Christmas dinners were they gave to those without; the houses they built for those who lost everything that made them humble; made them kind; made them caring; made them human.

.

.

.

It took me the better part of three days to think all this though. For hours I would think of their family interactions at least the little I had seen. I smiled fondly as I thought of how Esme held hands with Mr. Cullen every time they were close. I thought who Alice and Jasper seemed to move in complete synchronization with one another, needing no words to know what the other needed or wanted. The relationship between Rosalie and Emmett had a dedication and purity that I had yet to see in any relationship. Though he terrified me to my very core, the giant of a man held is wife like she was his most precious possession and would do everything in his power to keep her well and safe.

But in all the relationships I had witnessed, the one that left me breathless was the one shared between Edward and his son. I never knew a fatherly bond existed like that until I saw Edward with his son. Everything he did he did fir that little boy and it was plain to see that even though he hated his wife with a passion, that little boy held Edward down and for that he was amazing.

.

.

.

.

I once again found myself buried blissfully in the plush pillows of the bed. I sighed in absolute contentment and I allowed the feathery pillows to cushion my body as I attempted to lull myself back into that welcoming blackness. At least that was my intention until I remembered the reason as to why I was here.

Before I could control myself, I jolted out of the bed and a gut-wrenching scream tore through my lips. I found myself propelling myself backwards away from the voices I heard calling my name.

"No!" I exclaimed as I felt a hand wrap around my wrist pulling me until I crashed painfully with a rock-hard chest.

"Isabella, hush now. You're safe." I heard the voice of Edward Cullen coo into my ear. "Emmett won't be able to hurt you again. Hush now mi piccolo bellezza."

"Why do you always have to see me in tears?" I wailed into his shirt causing him to hold me tighter.

"Do you not want me to see you?" He asked as he touched my cheek allowing that electricity to surge through us both.

"I'm scared. I'm sacred of what you all would do to me. That's why I did not say the oath at first but I wanted to. I want a family. I don't want to be lonely no more." I cried out in my completely unexplainable hysteria.

"And you won't be. You have a family here. Now stop these tears and we'll talk." He said gently as he wiped my remaining tears away.

After giving me a moment to collect myself, he gently pulled back and fixed me so I still sat on the bed with my back pressed against his chest allowing me to see the entire family there including a very banged up Emmett Cullen.

Unable to help myself, my muscles tensed instantly in fear.

"I'm here Isabella. He can't hurt you." Edward cooed again while caressing my cover stomach. It was only then that I noticed that some one had clean and clothed me in what I knew to be a very expensive silk nightgown and silently I wondered if this would forever be my attire in the Cullen Manor.

"Isabella," I heard Mr. Cullen call from across the room where he sat with a visible distraught Esme. "How are you feeling, dear?" His eyes shining in paternal affection and concern.

"My back is a little sore and my legs feel slight irritated." I answered honestly as I tried to reach down to feel what was causing the irritation only to be stopped by Jasper as he held my hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, darlin'," He drawled in a Texan accent that left me gapping like a fish. "I had to remove some glass from you leg from where you hit the ground and it's understandable that your back is sore. That resulted….." He started to explain before I cut him off.

"From when Emmett slammed me against the wall." I finished for him gulping.

"Yes." He replied with a shake of his head before he asked me if I was in pain.

After telling him that I was fine, I looked eyes with Rosalie only to see her lower her head.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I did not know he would do this." She mumbled still looking at the floor.

"But you are not to blame." I responded as Edward gently rubbed my back. I knew nothing about this man and yet here he was doing the exact thing I needed him to do.

"I know but still….." She said with an underlying passion as she stood quickly and pushed Emmett away as he reached for her.

"Rosalie, I wanted to say something since the day I saw your father in front of the church. I want to ask him where the hell he was all this years. I wanted to know why no one came looking to see it I was ok. I wanted to know why no one seemed to care but even though I wanted to ask these questions I didn't. You know why?" I asked rhetorically.

"Because I had the answers. I know why no one looked; I know why no one seemed to care. I know why no one came. And it simply was because I appeared to be strong. To you all that night, I looked like the world's strongest woman; a woman who had already accepted her father's death. But I didn't. I couldn't. I was in denial. I wanted my father to live. I wanted my father to see his grandchildren. I wanted my father to walk me down the aisle if I ever got married. I wanted all that. I wanted to live in a world where my father lived and I tried to act like nothing happened. I tried to tell myself he would wake up; that this was all a dream. But it wasn't and then the truth finally hit home. I was the only one left. I was the only Swan standing. I had no on else; no family, no friend. No one."

"Bella." Esme started to say but I stopped her.

"Let me finish please."

"If there was anything I inherited from my father it was this need to be selfless; to give of myself without question. But now I want to be selfish. I want to get a family. I want someone to see my pain. I want someone to care." I said with a sigh as I laced my fingers with Edward.

"Well now you have a family, dear, even if you took an oath against your will." Mr. Cullen said with a soft smile. "And now having said that, we are all here to witness your first act in this family."

"Okay?" I said or more like asked.

"Emmett's faith, Isabella. You have to decide what we do with Emmett, Isabella." Edward's velvet voice purred into my ear causing my body to shiver involuntarily.

"What? No, I am not doing that. He might kill me." I whispered into Edward's ear all the while fighting the urge to kiss the sensitive skin there.

"He won't be able to do that if he's dead." Edward groaned turning his blazing green eyes onto me and with that one move the fire consumed me.

"What are you doing to me?" I groaned as my body fell back completely against his as he moved his hands under the comforter to painfully grab at my thighs that had not been injured by Emmett.

"I should be asking you that." He said as his fingers kneaded my flesh causing me to mewl softly.

"Isabella, give my family a decision so that they could leave." Edward commanded softly in my ear as we both fought against the energy surrounding us.

"I don't know what I want. I want him to suffer, yes but I also want to move on from this. Jesus! Edward help me make a decision, please." I huffed as my Edward-induced bubble popped when he commanded me to answer.

"In the mafia world, what would his punishment be, Mr. Cullen?" I asked as I readjusted myself against Edward's chest; pouting as he refused to help me.

"Firstly Bella, before I answer your question, please call me Carlisle, papa or anything else. Mr. Cullen makes me feel old." He said causing Esme to roll her eyes as she mouthed 'He is old,' in my direction causing both Edward and I to laugh. "And to answer your question, Emmett would be dead right now Isabella. He should be." He said coldly as he looked over at Emmett who lowered his head.

"No you won't kill him, Carlisle. If it's my choice then I choose to let him live and I am not doing this for him. I am doing it for the family. I know what it's like to lose a member of the family before time. I know what it is liked to be robbed of moments that you can't get back and I won't wish that on anyone." I said softly.

"Un angelo della misericordia." I heard Emmett mumble from were he sat.

"What?" I asked as everyone had nodded in agreement.

"He called you an angel of mercy." Jasper translated. "And you truly are."

"No, I'm not. My heart won't let me hurt anyone. Even if I wanted to." I sighed.

"You know Isabella, you remind me of something Carlisle's shank of an ex-wife told me and she said 'Solo la donna che è disposto a prelevare il sangue, sopravvive questa vita.'

Simply it's translated to mean: 'Only the woman who is willing to draw blood, survives this life.' Needless to say I disagreed with her at first just like everything she ever said but as time passed I believed her."

"Esme, no offense but I don't think you have a problem drawing some blood."

"You are right. Now, I would kill if I had to but at the begining I would have never entertained the idea of drawing blood far less for killing somebody. I was an innocent woman trying to make it out there in the world before I came here and ever since I came here, I knew I had to change things so take what I'm about to tell you in good faith and a bit of salt if you must. Okay?"

"Okay." I responded cautiously as Edward tighten his hold on my waist.

"Grow a back bone Isabella and start fighting becausee while we all know that you are hurting and trust me when I say we all want to help you but you need to fight now. Emmett should have been comdemned to death and while I am thankful you saved my son I will tell you this: it may not be today or tomorrow. It may be twenty years from now and someone outside of this family will try to hurt you and then neither Edward, Carisle, IlTrono nor God himself would be able to protect you. Deal with your pain, sweetheart. We are all here for you but don't let the world see your weakness. This is the mafia sweetheart. Don't let the world see your heart."


	11. The Bond Is Formed

AN: Hey everyone. Today you get the next chapter I promised. Sorry it took so long but I rewrote it. I just wasn't happy with the one I had done. Anyway just wanted to let you all know that this story will be translated into Russian by a member of the FF community, WhisperInTheDark 1234 and if anyone wants to give a translation a go, PM me. Also I started a Nannyella story if anyone wants to take a read.

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS**

**Chapter Ten: The Bond Is Formed**

**Isabella's POV.**

_"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path."  
- Agatha Christie_

After her somewhat harsh but necessary words, Esme ordered the entire Cullen family to leave me to rest until dinner was to be served in three hours. However that did not mean that all the members actually listened.

While Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper and Carlisle readily complied with Esme's request, Edward stayed firmly seated behind me and as soon as the door clicked shut after their exit, Edward pounced, pinning my body to the bed.

"Isabella Marie Swan," He growled into my ear, "what have you done to me? Why do I desire you so?" He asked as he skimmed his nose along my neck.

"I can't answer you. I don't even know what's going on" I whimpered out in reply.

"This isn't right. This desire I have for you. I am a husband. I have a wife, a woman who I would like nothing more than to see dead, but a wife none the less. I have a son. A son." He sighed softly before he sat up again and moved to the end of the bed before he continued.

"Isabella, do you believe in amore a prima vista? You know love at first sight?"

"No I can't say I have. I've only known pain for a long while. I gave up on everything else." I said softly as I pulled myself up so that I was not sprawled across the bed.

"I never believed in it to. I remember laughing at Jasper when he confessed he fell for Alice. Alice had just turned sixteen and Jasper was well on his way to being twenty and had already started working for my family. To say my father was pissed would be an understatement. He was fucking livid and it was by some act of God that Jasper survived." Edward said with a fond smile on his face as he stared off into the distance.

"Then I thought I had found the one thing I envied my siblings for. I had watched my brother and sister fall in love and gain so much from that one emotion. The happiness that radiated off of them was infectious yet poisonous. Their love poisoned me and made me desire something I should have waited to find but in youthful ignorance and arrogance, I decided that I would find it; I would go to love and not allow it to come to me. And I did just that and I got Tanya." He spat so venomously that I jumped slightly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you" He apologized softly as he reached out his hand to me which I eagerly took. "I don't even know why I feel the need to tell you all this but Isabella I need some sort of explanation as to what is going on between us. I just groped you in front of my family, all of whom, make no mistake, saw the entire thing, but really don't care. I have never wanted anyone like I have want you but I am a married man and I can't ask you to live in sin. I know you are religious. And as much as I want to know you and maybe fall more in love with you, I can't ask you to do this."

"You won't be asking me anything, Edward." I cooed softly into his ear as I slide down so I was on my knees behind him; my chest pressed against his back. "I want this as much as you. I want to be able to have you in my life. I want to be able to call you mine even if I have no explanation as to way."

"I can't let you do that. You're the moon to me Isabella, the unattainable beauty; a beauty I can only admire but never possess."

"I am far from the moon Edward. The moon is scarred." I spat as he turned to look at me.

"And you're not? Vanity does not become you." He said as the emerald to his eyes turned into smoldering embers.

"Don't you dear tell me what does or does not become of me! You have no right; no claim." I said turning away from him as I moved away from him and attempted to stand only to crumple back down into Edward's arms with a yelp of pain.

"Are you all right?" Edward asked concern lacing his voice. "Should I call for Jasper?"

"Why would you deny me this, Edward? Why would you deny me something only you can give?" I asked softly into his shirt; completely ignoring the pain I felt and his questions.

"I would give you the world if I could but Isabella are you sure this is what you want?" He asked again as he gently cupped my cheek.

"Yes. Just give me a chance to know you. Give me a chance to love you." I replied softly.

"This won't be easy. You don't even know me." He said with a slight chuckle as he laid me back on the bed.

"But I would like to." I replied as I cuddled into his side.

"Fine but there is something I want to do." He asked as he played with my hair.

"And that is?" I asked as I kissed his lingering hand softly.

"I want you to spend some time with Matthew and me." He said as he looked at me with so much emotion that I felt my heart stutter slightly.

"Off course but I think I should change into something more suitable." I said; grimacing slightly as I looked down at my attire.

"There should be some clothes in the closest over there. Would you like me to go and get you something? Jasper would kill me if I let you put too much pressure on that foot."

"Yes please. Maybe a dress so that it doesn't rub against my foot. How many stitches did I have to get." I asked Edward quietly as he walked over to the closest that was set at the far side of the room.

"Fifteen. Father was livid. He would have killed Emmett if he wasn't his son." Edward said as he walked back over to me offering me a black and white dress.

"Don't you think that this is too dressy for dinner?" I asked fingering the material as I took in the designer label attached to the side.

"You're a Cullen now. You have to look the part." He said. "I'll leave you to get dressed. Do you need any help?"

"No I'm good. I'll call you to help me stand when I'm done. I don't think I can take on gravity by myself right now."

"Off course." He replied before walking out.

.

.

.

Fifteen minutes later, I was cradled in Edward's arms as he walked through the Cullen mansion and into the most beautiful playroom I had ever seen.

"Da!" I heard being squealed across the room and that was when I noticed that the entire Cullen family was here and this time Tanya was there too.

"Hello, my little prince." Edward cooed as he lowered me gently into a seat next to Jasper who instantly pulled my legs into his lap and then walked off over to Matthew.

"How are they feeling, Bella?" Jasper asked as he rubbed his hand gently over his handy work. "Any pain?"

"No. Just some itching. Is that normal?" I asked as Alice scowled in Tanya's direction.

"Yes. I gave you a local anesthetic and then some morphine. You should be okay for a while but I'll be giving you some more after dinner to help you sleep." He said softly as he looked at Alice too.

"Hello Alice." I murmured softly at her.

"Hello Bella. I love that dress." She replied brightly all the while still staring at Tanya.

"Alice, what are you trying to do?" I asked as I accepted a drink from one of the maids.

"Kill Tanya." She said bluntly and loudly causing everyone to turn towards us and Tanya to scowl.

"Try it pint-size." Tanya sneered as she walked over to where we were seated.

"I don't have to try anything Tanya. I don't try. I just do." Alice growled standing up. "What? Isn't this the first time in the last two weeks that you have spent more than twenty minutes in the same room as your son? You don't think we all know why you're here. I wouldn't blame you though. Bella is kinda gorgeous. I mean, did you not see what I saw when Edward and Bella walked in here? Did you not see how Edward cradled Isabella to his chest; all loving and protective, holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world? I mean if I ever saw Jasper carry a woman that way, I might think the same as you so I understand your jealously. If I was you and my competition was Isabella, I would be scared too. Look even your son likes her and he has autism." And true to her words, Matthew was struggling with his nanny in a silent plea to come closer to me.

"Edward, why don't you bring Matt closer? He obviously wants to see Bella." Alice said still staring in the direction of the seething Tanya.

"Alright enough!" Esme exclaimed. "Alice sweetheart, I know how much pleasure you get out of goading Tanya but please don't make her talk. You know I hate her voice and I might end up killing her if she continues to talk, so please let her shut up."

"And you killing her is a bad thing, how?" Rosalie asked as he lounged against Emmett. "I would think that you would be doing the world a favor."

"What the hell is wrong with all of you? I am standing right here. It's not my fault that you all are envious of me. After all I represent everything you all are not." Tanya sneered as I noticed how the men paid very little attention to what the women were saying.

"She's right you know." Alice said somberly as she sat back down. "She is everything we're not."

"I know." Rosalie said, matching the sudden lifelessness and somberness that Alice was showing.

"So a yeast infection, plastic breast, no sense of style, a loveless marriage, no sex life because my husband, as sexy as he is, won't touch me with a ten- feet pool, looks that say 'Hi, I ate a bottle of tanning spray so even my ass is bright orange' and ears that make me look like Dumbo make her better than me. All that makes Tanya better than me." Esme said with a look of horror on her face.

"Yes, Mama. I'm afraid so." Alice said as she wiped off an imaginary tear from her cheek.

"Oh! You forgot to mention the nose job." Rosalie exclaimed with a slight bouncing in her seat.

A moment to silence followed before all three women broke down into peals of laughter. Esme was leaning against Carlisle as she laughed and even Carlisle chuckled a bit. Jasper, who was holding a giggling Alice to his chest, wore nothing more than a smile while Emmett laughed out loud as Rosalie crackled at a manic.

"Edward, are you going to sit here and let them talk about me and to me like that?" Tanya shrieked in outrage.

"Yes, I am." Edward said in a blunt manner as he played with his son. "Do you want to go meet Isabella son?" Edward said as Matthew raised his head at the sound of his father's voice.

"Da?" He asked in response as he crept over to Edward. "Da?"

"Would you like to play with Isabella?" Edward asked again as he stood with Matthew in his arms and walked over to where I was seated.

"Say hello Matthew." Edward said with a smile on his face as he crouched down so Matthew as in line with me with his back pressed against his father's chest but instead of speaking, he shyly buried his head in his father's chest.

"No, no. Dad's here. It's okay baby." Edward cooed to his son. "See she's just like you." Edward said as he pulled my hand out to show Matthew my palm. "Look baby just like you."

Cautiously Matthew turned his head to look at me before turning his attention to my hand and then shocked me by placing his baby soft hand on mine allowing his palm to touch. Edward, with a smile firmly planted on his face, encircled both Matthew and mine joint hands with his own and in that one moment, I realized that they were now my boys and I would fight heaven and hell for them both and in the back of my mind, I knew all my battles would be with one Tanya Cullen who I saw glaring at me from behind Edward.


	12. The Tale of an Affair

**The Mafia Mistress.**

**Chapter Eleven: The Tale of an Affair.**

**Isabella's POV.**

_Even in the common affairs of life, in love, friendship, and marriage, how little security have we when we trust our happiness in the hands of others!__  
_

"So then mom got pissed off at Tanya for only cutting us off. Dad knew what was going to happen so he pulled mom aside and cautioned her but she chose not to listen and pushed Tanya overboard. She was so sly about it that it took us twenty minutes to realize she was missing and then dad ordered that we circle around to get her." Rosalie laughed out.

"Would have worked too if Alice did not ask for the dried up hag." Esme quipped as she browsed through a magazine. "Honestly, of all the stupid things Edward has done in his life, marrying her was the worst." She huffed.

"If you don't mind me asking, if he doesn't love her then why doesn't he just get a divorce?" I asked as I sat with Matthew on the floor.

"She knows too much." Alice said as she flounced around the sunroom rearranging ornaments and adding flowers. "Tanya was never raised in the Mafia world like Rosalie or me. Her father was a struggling business man and her mother chosen occupation was that of a second grade teacher. She did not grow up in wealth and now that she has it, she would do anything to keep it even if it includes going to the popo."

"And that would affect the running of the Mafia world how?" I asked as I wiped some drool for Matthew's mouth.

"It would not affect the running of the Mafia world per se but it would be a blow. The interference from the police can take out a lot of the lower men while the top men like my brother and father would stay untouched but the operations would still be disrupted."

"And our family cannot have any signs of weakness, Bella." Rosalie said as she caressed her slightly visible baby bump. "We have too much pull as is. One crack and not only will the popo be after us but rival mob families too."

"And killing her is not an option why?" I asked as Matthew crawled towards Alice who picked him up with a squeal.

"Isabella Marie Swan, are we growing a backbone? I am so proud of you; talking about murder and all that. Killing her was not an option because of Matthew but that's going to change now." Esme said as she stood. "Let's go out." She said abruptly. "Go get your men."

"Where are we going?" Alice questioned as her mother walked out.

"To the zoo." She replied leaving us all reeling from her change of pace.

.

.

.

It had been two weeks since my incident with Emmett and things had taken a very pleasant turn in the Cullen Manor. I found myself smiling and laughing at all possible moments. With Jasper's help, I was able to get rid of some of the pain I had been feeling as a result of my father's death. Rosalie and Alice were the sisters I never had and Esme; the mother every little girl dreams about. I had not seen much of Carlisle or Emmett which annoyed me slightly but I was content with the flow of how things were.

The times I looked forward to the most were the minutes I would spend with Matthew and Edward. By the end of the first week, I had manipulated Edward into letting me keep Matthew with me at nights. He gave in on the condition that I place Matthew to sleep in his own bed. However, it was quite obvious the next morning that Matthew would not be sleeping in his own bed nor would his father enforce his condition since I woke up to find both of them snuggled in my bed.

All my time was spent with these two when it was possible and I loved every minute of it. My heart felt lighter with every passing day. With each little giggle and crooked smile, I felt my heart mend and I felt blessed.

So it was with the hope of hearing more giggles and the following Esme's order part that I found myself working to Edward's office.

"And those are your fingers and this is your tummy." I cooed to Matthew as we walked together to his father's office.

"Where are we going Matthew?" I asked as he held on firmly to my hands.

"Da." He said as he swung his head from side to side.

"You such are smart little man." I said as I blew a raspberry into his stomach. "Why don't you knock that door for your daddy?" I said softly as I placed his hand on the door. "Come on knock the door for you daddy." I gently encouraged.

Stubbornly he refused so I decided to try something else.

"Who is in there, Matthew?" I asked as I held him to my chest.

"Da." He responded quickly as he pulled on my hair.

"Do you want to see him?" I asked him to which he nodded yes.

"Well then call him and knock on the door," I softly responded and placed his hand on the door and that was all he needed as he started hollering and pounding on the door for his da.

As soon as Matthew's hand made contact with the door, it was opened by one of Edward's always present security detail causing Matthew to jump slightly and bury his face into my hair.

"Miss Swan. Young Master Cullen." The guard greeted as he opened the door to reveal the ever so mouth-watering Edward Cullen.

"Hello." I said shyly as I walked into the room and made my way to Edward who, with a smile on his face, moved his chair away from the table and opened his arms to take Matthew.

"Hello, il mio piu prezioso." Edward sighed as Matthew curled himself onto his father's chest. "What can I do for you?" He asked as he placed a lingering kiss on my hand.

"Well you can go change out of this suit and meet us downstairs so we can leave." I said as I ran my hands through his hair causing him to moan out.

"Mmmm…. And why am I doing this?" He asked as he peeked at me through the corner of his eye.

"Because your mother just planned a visit to the zoo and we, meaning the other ladies in the household, were ordered to round up the men so Matthew and I came here." I said as I picked up a page from his desk that had caught my eye.

"Alright when do we leave?" He asked as he made to stand.

"As soon as you are ready." I answered. "Why are you investing in this company?" I asked waving the page in front of him. "You do know this company is on the verge of a collapse right?" I asked as he looked at me in awe and shock.

"What?" I asked feeling slightly self conscious.

"How do you know that the company is going to collapse?" He asked as he threw his jacket on.

"Simple observation." I shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." He said as he placed a kiss on my forehead but the calculating look in his eyes let me know that there was more to that than he was letting on.

"Let me just go and change and I'll meet you downstairs. Okay?" He asked as we stepped out of his office. "You three," He said snapping his fingers at his personal army, "go with them." He instructed before he turned down the corridor and left Matthew and me with the guards.

.

.

.

Twenty minutes later, we were all set to go. Unfortunately, Tanya had invited herself along. When Esme and Alice found out Tanya was accompanying us, they both made a beeline for the alcohol. They had both guzzled down half a bottle of vodka each before Carlisle intervened and pulled the bottles away from them. After scolding them he walked out leaving them pouting. Esme, in her signature style, stuck out her tongue at his retreating form before she rummaged in her purse only to pull out a flask with a triumphant smirk. When she saw me looking her way, she winked at me saying: "I did not mean to push her in the gorilla exhibit. I'm drunk and she looked like one so I thought she escaped." She said in reference to Tanya who rolled her eyes at Esme who in retaliation threw a book at Tanya's head. The resounding thud had me cringing and I was silently thankful that Jasper had stolen Matthew from me.

"Is everything okay in here?" Edward asked as he entered pulling on a jacket.

Before any of us could respond, Esme walked over to Edward and slapped him upside the head.

"Mama." Edward cringed. "What on God's green earth are you doing?"

"You asked a stupid question so I responded in like. Are we ready to leave?" She asked as she kissed his cheek.

"Yes. Alice and Jasper are riding with you and dad. Isabella, Matthew and I are riding together and Emmett and Rosalie are going by themselves." Edward said as he made his way over to me. "Are you ready to go? Matthew is waiting for his La."

"Well, we shouldn't keep him waiting." I responded with a smile on my face thinking of the nickname Matthew had given me.

"Edward darling," Tanya said in her signature nasal voice, "since I am going, why don't you let Isabelle go join Emmett and Rosalie. That way we could have some family time on the way over to the zoo." Tanya said as she tried to intercept him.

"Not happening." He responded stepping around her and grabbing my hand.

"Why do you choose to flaunt your extra-marital affair in my face, Edward?" Tanya shrieked.

"Oh, is this flaunting? So what do you call it when your husband walks into his bedroom to see his wife flat on her back on her marital bed, you know the one she shared with said husband, being plowed into by her God-brother.?" Edward said calmly as he tucked in a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"He was helping her find her earring without her clothes on and with his dick buried in her va-jay-jay, Edward. Seriously Edward you're so dumb sometimes. Your wife is a saint. She never did anything wrong like screw half of the people she knows. Note Bella: I said people. I did not specific a sex. Tanya likes to be the cowgirl and the cowboy." Jasper said smoothly in his Texan accent without missing a beat.

"Shut up, Jasper." Tanya growled.

"Shut up, Tanya." Jasper mocked. "More like shut it." He sniggered before indicating that it was time to go.

With his hand on my lower back, he pulled me a bit closer as we walked out. As soon as we walked out the door, I reeled back in shock. In every direction there were men dressed from head to toe in black. They all looked lethal. None of them acknowledged me but everyone paid attention to Edward and Carlisle with each and every one of them bowing slightly in their direction.

Grabbing my waist, Edward gently slid me into the first Escalade before following me in. Quickly, the door was shut; successfully prevent Tanya from entering. Matthew was absorbed in a puzzle in front of him so he paid me no mind. Edward however, pulled me close to him, dropping his head onto my shoulder with a groan.

"So is that why you, as in the family, hate Tanya? She cheated on you?" I asked as the two of the men in black entered the front of the car.

"Tanya. Wretched woman" He responded. "I never told you that I caught her cheating, did I?" He asked as he played with my fingers.

"No," I murmured. "When….." I trailed off as he leaned back on his set and pulled me into his side. I happily curled up against his chest, my fingers finding his and lacing them together.

"I was away with my father. We had gone to one of our yearly meetings where anyone new to the families would be introduced. Truly it was like a father-son getaway to Italy where the booze was free and the women were endless. It was also where future Dons were allowed to meet the true power in the Mafia. Tanya had just given birth to Matthew. The actual birth had been difficult. Matthew was two weeks overdue and Tanya was at risk of suffering from preeclampsia all throughout the pregnancy. Normally the Mafia wives would attend as well but it just wasn't possible that year. Anyway my father and I stayed as was expected and then flew back into the country. I was so keyed up to see my son and my wife again that I remember flying up the stairs. I did not stop the greet anyone, not even my mother. I remember how my heart pounded in my chest when I heard Matthew cry out the night. I thought it was time for his bottle. I stopped by the nursery but he wasn't in there so I made my way to the bedroom; the bedroom I shared with my wife smiling like an idiot because I thought she had him in our room to take care of him. Little did I know that I was wrong; so very wrong."

"When I opened the door, Tanya was on the bed. Her God-brother, Austin, was on top of her pounding into her like his life depended on it. I remember that anger so well. I left them to do what they needed to do. I calmly walked in, dropped my bag onto the floor and made my way over to Matthew. By now obviously, they knew I was in the room. His cheeks were red with how much he had been crying. I picked him up and walked out. His clothing was soiled and he had not been changed for a while. He had a very bad case of diaper rash. I screamed at one of my guards to go and fetch my parents and to tell my mother to bring a bottle with her. The guard did as he was told and soon enough, my parents were flying into the nursery with Jasper and Alice right on their heels. When they entered the nursery, it was clear what Tanya had done in regards to Matthew. Alice took of to rip Tanya a new one but before she opened the door, it opened to reveal a flustered Tanya and a red faced Austin. My father was pissed. He grabbed Austin by the throat and threw him into Jasper's waiting arms. Up to this day, I don't know what happened to Austin. By the next day, Matthew had developed an infection. His body was too weak to do much of anything. Since then Tanya has been the most hated person in the family. Cheating on me was one thing but neglecting our son was another. That night was the night she disowned him."

"Why don't you divorce her, Edward? Why can't you kill her?" I cried out as I looked on as the innocent Matthew shook his head as he giggled.

"We can't do anything. Our hands are tied. If we had a choice, Tanya would be dead already." Edward said as he wiped away my tears.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I reached out my hand for Matthew.

"I mean that we have concrete information that Tanya is leaking information to the feds and if my information is correct, which it always is, at some point in time today a fed will try to talk to you."

"Oh God." I murmured as Matthew pated his hand against mine.

"Oh God is right." Edward murmured into my ear. "You're a marked woman now, Ms. Swan." He said softly before clasping a bracelet onto my wrist bearing a coat of arms I had seen before; bearing the coat of arms of one Edward Cullen.

**Translation:**

_il mio piu prezioso: my most precious._


	13. The Collateral Damage

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Chapter Twelve: The Collateral Damage.**

**Isabella's POV.**

_With one bullet I ended the bastard's life. My hand did not shake nor did my gaze falter. I saw the fear and the pain, but my stance did not waver because with that one bullet my family was safe._

After our somewhat heavy talk, Edward and I settled back comfortably into our seats and spoke of everything. Since it was the first time that I would be leaving Cullen Manor since Edward brought me here two weeks ago, I found myself asking many questions. Edward found my curiosity amusing but graciously answered all of them. Because the Cullen Manor was so isolated, the journey was a long one but it was pleasant none the less because I had my boys with me.

Soon enough we were pulling up to the zoo entrance. Instantly, Matthew looked up; his attention captured by the right colours.

"Da?" He asked with a slight tremble in his voice.

"Hey, buddy," Edward cooed as he took his son's hand in his own. "I'm here. We're at the zoo." He said; offering his son the comfort he so needed.

"I love seeing you with him." I whispered in Edward's ear as the car stopped.

"The feelings mutual," he commented as the door opened to reveal the many members of his security team as they scattered.

"So what should I expect?" I asked Edward as he slid out the car.

"Nothing. All you need to do is have fun." He smiled as Matthew leapt into his arms.

"Alright people," Esme called, "please stick together. Hold hands with your buddy and Edward hand over my grandson." She ordered as she scooped Matthew up and took him over to Carlisle who attached a band to his tiny wrist.

"What is that?" I asked as I eyed the band from where we stood.

"That is the Cullen crest. It's worn by all the leading heads in the family. My father and I have had them tattooed onto our backs the day we took our pledges as Dons. Matthew will be required to do that if he is able to take the pledge." He sighed heavily.

"Hey, what's the problem?" I questioned softly as I turned to face him.

"Sometimes I don't know if to be happy that there is a high possibility that he wouldn't be able to take the oath or sad that he can't. I hate that his life is like this. I want better for him and I hate that he has to struggle with this everyday. He's my baby boy; my first born. I love him more than I ever could possibly imagine and it kills me to think that he won't have a proper childhood; a normal one." He said softly, the pain heavy in both his voice and in his eyes.

"Edward, I wanted to talk to you. I had a friend who was diagnosed with autism at a very early age like Matthew but at school you couldn't tell. She still had her little habits but she led relatively normal life. She works, got married and has a daughter. Her parents had put her through some very rigorous therapy with a ridiculously large bill but it worked and I don't think it will matter to you once he's happy." I said as I ran my fingers through his unruly curls.

"You're right. The price doesn't matter. Can you get into contact with this friend?" He asked as he took me into his arms; pulling me flush against his chest.

"I can try." I said as I placed a kiss on his clothed chest directly above his heart.

"You know," He chuckled, "the rest of the family has left us here."

"Really?" I shrieked as I spun around to see that we were indeed the only ones still standing there. "So what do we do?"

"We go on our own tour." He smiled as he led me over to the first exhibit we found.

The hours that followed were pure joy. We laughed at every and anything. I found out his favourite animal was the tiger and that his less favourite animal was the tarantula. Apparently there was a story attached to his hatred of the eight legged creature but I failed to get it out of him. We bought ourselves snow-cones always keeping one arm around the other. A couple hours into our little fun day, Jasper appeared with a crying Matthew who was apparently missing his father a little too much. He also informed us that Tanya was on her way home after being thrown into the duck pond by one very hormonal Rosalie. Apparently Tanya had been dead set on trying to locate us and had been saying things that she shouldn't have been saying so Rosalie took it upon herself to get ride of the nuisance.

"You really should get rid of her." I commented as I wiped Matthew's tears away.

"I want to but if I do get rid of her in a divorce, she'll song like a canary and if I kill her then it will open up a whole can of worms that we can't deal with. She's in league with the Feds. They'll know that she's missing and then they'll start snooping. We'll take a hit the same way the King Family took a hit." He said as he adjusted Matthew in his arms.

"We'll figure something out." I said as we walked over to the aquarium. Apparently the water got to Matthew and he tugged on Edward's arm and indicated that he had to go potty.

"Alright little man let's go." He said before leaning down so that his lips were by my ear. To a passer-by it would look like he was simply kissing me on my cheek but to the trained eye, you would see that he was telling me that a federal agent was standing off to the side and that he would most likely come and talk to me in Edward's absence. Apparently this was the opening the feds wanted and the only opening that Edward would give.

With a slight nod of my head he took off, leaving me standing in front the dolphins.

"Good afternoon, Miss Swan." A deep baritone said from my right side.

"Hello, Mr.…" I said in a voice that said that I was completely clueless to what was happening.

"I'm Agent Forrester." He said as he pulled his identification from his jacket. "I work with the F.B.I. I was wondering if you could help me."

"I can try." I said with a small smile as I took in his appearance. He was a surprisingly short man, no taller than six feet. He had an aged face making his look well into his fifties. He wore a cheap suit that smelled like cheap cigarettes and scotch. He wore a smile on his face and while I was certain that this was meant to comfort me, it only served to leave me panicked and nausea.

"What is your relationship with the Cullen family?" He questioned; jumping right into it.

"They were there for me when I went through a very dark time in my life." I answered honestly.

"Really?" He asked; his eyebrows shooting up. "We were under the impression that you where taken against your will."

I could not help but laugh at his statement. "That is such a moronic assumption. Would I really be standing here, by myself talking to you if I was truly taken against my will? No, Agent Forrester. I would be screaming at you to get me out of here and then I would be begging for witness protection and singing like a canary. I am very happy where I am right now."

"You know as the daughter of a police chief, you would think that you off all people who have a strong hatred for the dealings of the Cullen family." He said as he stared me down; no doubt trying to intimidate me.

"And what dealings are we talking about, Agent?" I asked as I sat down on a nearby bench.

"Racketeering. Murder. Drugs. Guns. Anything illegal actually." He shrugged; appearing to be nonchalant.

"Really? Well that's news to me. I spend all my time with them and when we're not planning some charity event then we're at a charity event. They're good people, Agent Forrester. At least from what I can tell." I said with sigh.

"No they aren't. Let me be honest with you Ms. Swan. We received information that you would be able to help. You're a good person and we need you to help us. A member of the family is already helping us." He said but I knew from the way his eyes bulged that I was not supposed to know that.

"I know. Tanya told me." I lied hoping to see what else I could get from him.

"She did? She did not tell us anything but moving on, Ms. Swan, if you agree to help us, we will give you the same protection that we have promised to give her."

"You promised her protection? She didn't tell me that." I shrieked letting him belief that I was very excited to hear this little tidbit of information.

"Yes we offer her protection in the form of immunity and witness protection as well as a lump sum of five million dollars as payment." He said taking a seat next to me.

"Five million only? She could get more out of the Cullens." I said watching him out of the corner of my eye. "There is more to it than that." I said frankly.

"She also wants all the money, assets and properties owned by the Cullens." He sighed. "It was agreed upon that she may receive all that for her help."

"So why come to me when she is helping already? Surely you don't need me too." I said looking down at my hands.

"We actually do, Ms. Swan. We need you to say that you saw Edward Cullen shoot your father." He said softly

"Why would I say that?" I asked; confusion lacing my voice. "The man who shot mey father was already dealt with. Why would I lie for that?" I asked absolutely revolted by what I was hearing.

"We need evidence. We know where it is but we have no grounds for a search and seizure warrant. We know where the evidence is. Tanya has made sure of that. We just need the warrant to get it." He said.

"I'm sorry I can't help you. I can't lie like that. It would be an injustice to my father's memory; his legacy but you should know something, Agent Forrester."

"And what is that?" He asked as I stood.

"I remember you. I remember the day you came to Forks with the same purpose. You have a vendetta against the Cullens but let me warn you. Don't trust Tanya Cullen. She is more evil than anyone I have ever met and she will do anything to get she wants; even if it means turning against innocent people. I hope you know what you're getting into. I gain nothing from telling you this but she gains everything."

"Well good day Ms. Swan. You have been more helpful than you know." He murmured as he stood and hurried away.

As he disappeared around the corner, Edward reappeared and I instantly took Matthew into my arms, allowing his pure, untainted scent to sooth my frazzled nerves.

"What did he say to you?"Edward asked as Matthew played with my hair.

"He let it slip that he was getting information from someone in the family. I winged it and said that Tanya already told me and he opened up a bit. Edward, we have to talk. Not here though." I said in a surprisingly steady voice even though my insides were a mess.

"Alright let's go." He said and in no time at all we were all on our way back to the Manor.

When we arrived, the family headed straight to the dining room to have dinner. Tanya was uncharacteristically quiet throughout the meal. She pushed her food around her plate and refused to meet anyone's gaze. Her cover was blown and she knew it. Eventually, Edward headed to put Matthew to bed. I stood without question and left the room with him. Once Matthew was tucked in, we headed over to his parent's wing where Esme meet us at their bedroom door.

"I got a call from our friend in the F.B.I. They're not looked into us again. The case has been closed for all intents and purposes and Tanya is no longer of use to them." Carlisle said from where he sat.

"How?" Emmett asked; bewilderment painted on his face.

"Apparently Isabella is responsible for this latest occurrence." He answered; looking at me over the rim of his spectacles. "What did you do?"

"I gave them a reason to doubt his motives behind coming after the family." I responded as I sat down next to Edward.

"What do you mean, Isabella?" Edward asked as he took my hand in his.

"Today was not the first time I met Agent Forrester. Obviously he did not remember me but I remembered him. He came to meet me right after my father's funeral, begging me to help him bring the family down. I said that to him today, you know about remembering him. I made it sound like her had a vendetta against the family; that he was too emotionally involved. I grew up with a chief of police as my father. He always made sure that he never got emotionally attached because then everything is question and if you're going after a Mafia Family, you better be damn sure you make no errors. You can't deal with questions. Hence the reason the case was pulled. By now, they know everything is at risk. They cannot afford it." I said softly.

"What I don't understand is why they don't get Tanya out of here." Rosalie murmured. "Do they know that we know she told them about us?"

"Probably but I don't thing she was getting anything more than witness protection anyway." Jasper murmured.

"So why is she still here?" Rosalie asked.

"Collateral damage." Emmett stated. "They're hoping that we'll kill her know that we know she's talking and then they'll swoop in for her murdering."

"But do they want to get at the family that bad that they would put a hit on Tanya?" I asked.

"The Feds…..No." Edward murmured looking at his phone. "An Agent Peter Forrester yes." He said causing Carlisle to look up in alarm.

"That," he said while holding up his phone, "was a message from Tortellin. He was contacted about a hit. It seems that Forrester just put a hit on Tanya under the guise of her leaking information about the Mafia. He said that out of respect that he was letting me know and unless we figure out a way to stop the Russian from killing someone who leaked information about the Mafia to the Feds, then Tanya will be dead in less than twelve hours."


	14. The Day of Chance and Change

AN: In light of crossing 600 reviews, you get the next chapter today. Enjoy.

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Chapter Thirteen: The Day of Chance and Change.**

**Edward's POV.**

_Judge me not for my sins and errors. Love me not for my smile or charm. Save me not for my soul or my worth._

With a heavy mind, I held Bella was we returned to her room. Matthew had already curled himself up onto the bed; hugging Bella's pillow with her ever watchful cat and very mischievous dog as company. Truly it was a heartwarming sight. Silently, Bella pulled away from me and made her way over to the sleeping child. With a shaky hand, she moved his hair away from his face before she leaned down to kiss him on his forehead. It was only when she pulled back that I saw the tears that had begun to fall.

Wordlessly and without invitation, I walked over and quickly pulled her into my chest. I knew the meeting had been hard on her but there was no way to prevent Tanya's death. It was one thing to say you wanted a person dead but to have it stare at you; to know that the woman who gave you your son was going to die….well it was a hard pill to swallow.

After Isabella had calmed down, she made her was to her dresser and pulled out some clothing before locking herself into the bathroom. Her cries broke free before she even turned on the water.

Sighing loudly, I lowered myself onto the bed. Things were not adding up. Things did not feel right. I did not know what to do or who to turn to and there was nothing a Don hated more than feeling powerless.

I stayed with my shoulders hunched and my head bowed as Isabella reentered to the room. I felt the bed shift and then I felt her hands gently rubbing my shoulders.

"Coming to bed?" She asked softly; her hands never stilling their movement.

My only response was a hum of sheer pleasure; pleasure in knowing that my son was safe and pleasure in knowing that through the sheer simplicity and innocence of her actions, I was falling in love with one Isabella Marie Swan.

.

.

.

The early morning beams of light that peeked through the curtains successfully pulled me from my slumber. Bella was curled at my side; her back pressed against my chest. Some time during the night, she had pulled Matthew into her own arms and that was where he lay, merrily sucking on his thumb. My heart warmed at the sight but quickly plummeted into the deepest abyss when I saw the time.

Pulling myself from the warmth and comfort of that bed had been hard. I felt like a child's whose favorite toy had been taken. I wanted to turn and slip into the covers once more and bury myself in their scents and just close my eyes and fall back to sleep but I could not because I knew my father would be waiting.

Quickly, I ran into my office and pulled the velvet box from my safe. I had this piece of jewelry for so long that I had almost forgotten about it. I never saw it fit to give anyone this solely because of the rarity of the stone but it had occurred to me during the night when I held Isabella in my arms, that she was the one to receive this gift.

Smiling to myself, I made a quick stop at the lily garden my mother insisted on having. With the lily and box securely in my position, I made my way back to the room where my most precious of possessions were.

Bending down, I kissed them both on their foreheads before placing the gift I had for Isabella on her vanity with the lily.

"Edward," Isabella called as I slipped on my jacket.

"Shh." I cooed as I sat next to her. "I'm here." I said as I took one of her hands in mine and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Are you leaving already?" She asked softly; her voice thick with sleep yet melodious and beautiful.

"Yes." I murmured as I allowed my thumb to caress her cheek. "I have to meet my father." I said softly.

"Oh." She answered. "When will I see you again?"

"Some time today." I replied. "Why don't you go back to sleep?" I said as her eyes drooped.

"Okay. Promise me you'll be okay." She said holding onto my hand.

"I promise you that." I said as I lowered my head onto her hands holding on for dear life.

Several minutes had passed before I let go of her hands and by then she had fallen back to sleep. Kissing her forehead again I left the room but not before ensuring that the guards were present.

.

.

.

My father sat stoically by the window. He made no sound or movement as I entered. Jasper and Emmett were locked in what seemed to be a heated debate and I had neither the want or need to hear what they were saying.

"Good morning, father." I said with a slight bow of my head. "Jasper. Emmett." I acknowledged.

"My son." My father said as if my words had brought him back from a distant land.

"Edward, father, I think there is something you need to know." Jasper said as Emmett shook his head.

"What's the point?" Emmett quipped. "She's still dying."

"Still Emmett. Things are not going to be pretty." Jasper rebutted before standing and approaching us with two files; two very official files.

"A friend of mine was able to pull all the information on Agent Forrester. Apparently he no longer works for the feds. He was fired after his Mafia obsession started. Bella was right when she said she met his before. He was one of the agents who was working on the case that they had been building against the Kings. In retaliation to the digging the Feds were doing, the Kings had his entire family killed; the family that consisted of his wife and three children."

"Poor man." My father murmured in sympathy.

"After their deaths, he went on a rampage, trying to hit any crime family he could. When he approached Isabella….. that was when he was fired. His superiors saw what she saw. He had a vendetta and like Isabella said, the Feds could not allow for any mistakes."

"But that still doesn't explain why the Feds pulled the case." I interjected.

"Our guy was lying. The case is alive and well. It seems that our little stitch is in league with Forrester. After doing some background checks and a little family tree search, I have discovered that Santiago is a direct descendant of one Aro Volturi."

"So what are they playing at?" I asked again not liking where my mind was taking me.

"This is their attempt at starting a Mafia war." My father murmured as he closed his eyes.

"Exactly. They are trying to pit everyone against each other and then when the numbers have dwindled, Santiago will swoop in with the Feds and take out the heads."

"All the little fish would be dead so the big fish would have to do the dirty work." I murmured.

"And then we'll get caught with our hand in the cookie jar." My father completed.

"So how do we play through this mine field?" Emmett asked as he looked between my father and myself.

"Have you called the Russians?" I asked Jasper as he fiddled with his phone.

"Yes and they have called off their guy. Instead they are looking for Forrester. They said that they'll let us know what they find."

"I don't know if you just don't want to know the answer to that question or if you just haven't thought to ask it." My father said as he looked at me.

"And what question is that?" I asked as I ran my fingers through my very unruly hair.

"What was Tanya's role in all this? And did she really just squeal on us under the belief that Forrester worked for the Feds?"

"And the answer to that Jasper is…." I said turning to Jasper who had just taken on a sickly pale color.

"You are not going to like it." He commented as he shook his head. "She knew who they were and what they were doing. She was the one who found Forrester and she was the one who turned to Santiago. She knew what was going on from the very beginning. Tanya wanted this war to start then she could disappear and no one would look."

"Damn it." I sighed.

"The seating members of Il Trono will be here at the end of the week. These three did not just make an attempt on our family but the entire organization. They need to be dealt with. I should also let you know that none of the heads are angry at you. They offer their sympathies to you and some even their empathy. You are not the first one whose wife has betrayed him nor will you be the last." My father said offering me the comfort only he could give.

"So what do we do now?" Emmett asked as he crossed his legs, resting his right ankle on his left knee.

"We wait for Il Trono to act." My father shrugged. "Tanya will need to be detained and Santiago has to be brought in. I will contact the Russian Signore del Sangue and ensure that they leave Forrester alive so that we could deal with him accordingly."

"Is that…" I started to say before the doors flew up the reveal a panicked guard.

"Masters. Come quickly. It's the Prince." He said.

As soon as we heard the word prince, we all pulled out our guns and started running down the corridor.

"Where?" I shouted from the front.

"The dining room, Master Cullen." The guard responded.

.

.

.

The sight that greeted me on entering the dining room was horrific. I felt the air leave me as my eyes desperately searched for my son.

"Matthew." I cried out as I saw him limp in Bella arms.

"What happened?" I asked as I hurried over to them.

"Tanya…." She stuttered out; her eyes wide with fright and her body shaking life a leaf.

"What did you do?" I roared, turning on the restrained woman. "Answer me Tanya, what did you do to my son?"

"Nothing." She squeaked out most likely seeing the anger that raged on inside me.

"Don't lie to me. I have no patience with you today." I said coldly as she quivered in fear.

"I'll tell you what happened, Edward," Rosalie growled from she was being held by Emmett. "We were having breakfast. Matthew was seated in Bella's lap eating of her plate. He was actually pointing to what he wanted to eat. It was nice seeing him so open to eating his food. Alice piped up about how Matthew's birthday was coming up and that she wanted to get started on planning the party but that she did not know what theme to use. Bella then suggested a carnival theme and that we could invite the children of the men who work with us. She said it would be nice for Matthew to have some friends. Mum squealed like a little girl and ran out the room to return with address books and directories so we could start planning. We were so into it that we had apparently been a little neglectful of Matthew and he wanted Bella. So he called for her but he didn't say La."

"What did he say?" I asked.

"He said Ma. Shocked we all turned to him thinking that he had mixed up his words or something but then he called her ma again and again until he was almost screaming the word. Tanya was furious and before any of us could get to Matthew, she had him in her arms and shaking him like a rag doll. She was screaming at him; telling him she was his mother and then she stopped. I remember her eyes widen when she realized what she had done and then she just dropped him. Bella caught him but then he started to seize."

"Jasper, is he alright?" I asked not turning away from Tanya.

"He'll be fine. I do want to get him checked out at the hospital though." He said as I could hear him rummage about in his bag. "Isabella will need some stitches as well."

"How did you get that, my dear?" I heard my father ask Bella softly

"When I lunged to catch Matthew, I hit my elbow on the ground." She murmured.

"Jasper, head over to the hospital with Isabella and Matthew. Emmett, send them with security. Seth, you know where to carry her." I said as I nodded my head in Tanya's direction.

"Is that all you all you going to do?" My mother shrieked. "She grabbed your son. She shook your son. Your son had a seizure because of her."

"I can't do anything. My hands are tied by both oath and the simple fact that she is a woman."

"Well maybe you can't but I can." And before I had time to process what my mother had said, I looked on as my mother grabbed a guard's gun and with the precision and accuracy that my father taught her, I looked on as she delivered one shot hitting Tanya directly on her forehead.

The chaos that ensued was expected. The women scream. My father rushed forward and pulled the gun from my mother's hand. I could here the steel sheeting being lowered to prevent anyone from seeing into the room but what shocked me the most was what I felt.

And I felt free.


	15. Chapter 15

**If anyone wants to make a trailer for this story or any other one of my stories let me know.**

**D****i****sclaimer on Profile.**

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Chapter Fourteen: The Difference Between Love and the Illusion of Love.**

You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her.

"So in closing all I will like to say is that Tanya, I know that you are here so I just want you to know that I love you and I will miss you so much." Kate, Tanya's sister sniffled through her touching speech.

"Oh please." Alice scoffed not so quietly. "Kate hated Tanya more than I did."

"Alice!" Esme reprimanded, wiping away non-existent tear. "Be quiet."

"Mother, might I remind you that you shot her. You're the reason she's dead."

"Be quiet!" Rosalie hissed at them both. "For Edward's sake please behave."

At that statement, both women fell silent as they threw a glance at Edward.

For the past few days, he had pulled away. No-one understood why he was acting the way he was. He had closed himself off. He had spoken to Tanya's family and had given them permission to plan the funeral. Isabella had taken the brunt of it and had moved into her first room in Carlisle and Esme's wing of the house and had also maintained a distance from Matthew though it was visible that it was killing her to do so. Edward hardly spoke a word to her and even when Matthew had been found wondering the corridors at night looking for Isabella, Edward refused to budge.

Isabella had chosen to sit at the back of the church though many people knew who she was and what her association with the Cullen Family was. Edward though closed off to his family, felt her absence. This was his doing. Her reluctance to sit with him was just a reflection of the pain she had had to endure at his hands.

Truly, Edward did not know why he was acting the way he was. She had come to him on many occasions with arms wide open, ready to give him the comfort he so desired but yet every time she came to him, he turned her away by any means possible. He did not seem to care if his words were harsh or that she was also left in tears.

Carlisle had had it with Edward's behaviour. He had waited until after Tanya's funeral to confront his son and now that she was in the ground, he was gearing himself up for what would not doubt be an epic screaming match between his son and himself.

.

.

.

That night at dinner, Isabella's decreasing appetite had sparked the concern of every member of the family. Emmett spent the evening shooting pointed looks to his brother. Esme who now sat next to Isabella so she was able to sandwich Isabella between Carlisle and herself felt her fury building.

"Bella, are you alright?" Alice asked, pulling everyone from their own little bubbles of hate.

"I am feeling a bit faint." Isabella gasped out, pressing her hand to her forehead.

"Well, if you stop starving yourself and actually eat something then maybe you want be feeling that way." Edward spat out.

"What have I ever done to make you hate me so?" Isabella said softly but in the silence, her words seemed to reverberate in the room.

"You are the reason she's dead. You are the reason that my wife is dead." Edward growled.

"Oh my god! You love her." Alice screeched. "That's why you fought against getting rid of her. You love Tanya."

"Tell me that isn't true, Edward. Did you really love her?" Esme asked gently.

Edward's silence was the only answer the family needed.

.

.

.

Jasper Whitlock had been stunned by Edward's revelation that night. He had listened to his wife toss and turn for the entire night. They were all troubled. No-one could figure out Edward's change of heart. Earlier than was acceptable for some human beings, Jasper slipped out of the comfort of his bed, kissed her wife on her lips and left in search of Edward. He found him soon enough in the quiet company of his father both sitting at Isabella's bedside.

Quietly, he made his way into the room and took a seat on Isabella's bed and quietly took her wrist and gently felt put her pulse.

"Her name was Maria." Jasper said softly while keeping track of Isabella's pulse to ensure she was not waking up. "She was my first love, my high school sweetheart. We had life planned out up to the white picket fence but she had a secret. Her father had been abusing her. One day I went over unannounced only to find her beaten and left bleeding on their living room floor. I moved her out of there immediately. That's how we came. Everything was fine until she got pregnant and made the mistake of calling her mother. She told her mother everything. Her father who was still very angry with what had happened tracked us down. I was twenty at that time, worked two jobs and going to school. I came home one night at three to find Maria on the fall bleeding from just about everywhere. Everything was a blur for the next seventeen days in my life because I lost the woman I loved because she bled out while they tried to remove her ruptured kidney and our child who was too young to survive from the many complications."

"It took me four years to find her parents. That's why I joined the Mafia. That's why I got so good at what I do so fast. When I found them I made them suffer. I prolonged it for as long as I could. I fed them, medicated them. I clothed them and then I shot them but before I did kill them I found out that they had been in close contact with my mother. My mother had been poisoning them further, never allowing Maria's parents a moment to move on. I am not proud of it but I eventually put a bullet in my own mother's head."

"Tanya gave you a son, a son you love more than words can say but while you were thankful and had a certain amount of feelings for her you don't love her now."

"How can you say that?" Edward whispered fiercely.

"I can say that because if you were in love with Tanya then Esme would be dead as well. A son is a son until he gets himself a wife." Jasper said finally looking Edward in the eye. "If I threatened Isabella's life, what would have happened to me?"

"Nothing." Edward scoffed.

"Really." Jasper smirked as he stood and placed knife to Isabella's neck directly on her jugular vein.

Within seconds, Edward drew his gun pointing it directly at Jasper's head.

"I thought nothing would happen." Jasper said pulling the knife away. "True love is very different from the illusion of love, Edward. It makes no sense feeling guilty over what has happened. You have put up a strong front when we dealt with the other families but I know you and I know what you are thinking. You are wrong to lash out at Isabella. You do know she is regressing."

"I am sorry. My son lost his mother." Edward rebutted.

"Did he?" Carlisle interjected and that was when everyone turned to the door where young Matthew made his way into Isabella's room. Completely ignoring the men present, Matthew wiggled his way onto Isabella's bed and into her arms.

"Ma." He murmured as he closed his eyes and within seconds he was asleep.

That simple interaction brought Edward's world crashing down around him. He was a fool and by so doing, he pushed his true love away. Wordlessly he climbed into the bed and pulled Isabella into his chest and in the process waking up Isabella.

"Forgive me." He murmured into her neck.

"Nothing to forgive." Isabella murmured. "Sleep." And with that Edward fell asleep for the first time in a long time.


	16. The Clash of the Titans

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything expect the plot. I just playing with the characters.**

**THE MAFIA MISTRESS.**

**Chapter Fifteen: The Clash of the Titans.**

Three weeks, four days, seventeen hours, thirty-three minutes and twenty- three seconds.

That was the exact amount of time that had passed since Isabella Marie Swan uttered a single word to Edward Anthony Masen Cullen.

He knew the infractions he had committed against her were great and far too numerous but he had hoped against all hope that when she had softly spoke those words of forgiveness that all was well but he was wrong.

She did not forgive him. He saw it every time he looked into her eyes. He saw the anger, resentment and disgust that had taken their place in her soulful brown eyes.

Like any man who had had the great misfortune of incurring the wrath of a woman wrong, Edward had taken it upon himself to shower Isabella with lavish gifts ranging from flawless diamond bracelets and exotic flowers to soft, stuffed bears and the sweet words of poetry but nothing swayed her because at the end of the day his gifts found themselves back in his possession.

As his task of winning Isabella over seemed more out of reach with each passing day, he finally decided to seek out the advice of the one man who had never led him astray.

"She hates me." Edward stated quite bluntly as he stomped his way into his father's office reminding Carlisle immediately of the legendary temper tantrums that were found to have been littered across his son's childhood and teenaged years.

"Hate is a very strong word, son." Carlisle responded smoothly as he sat back in his one of a kind high back chair. "I think it is more appropriate to say that she does not seem to be very fond of you at the moment."

"I don't know what else to do." Edward huffed continuing as if his father had said nothing.

"Maybe you should try grovelling." Carlisle suggested and had it not been for the lightness in his voice and the mischievous twinkle in his eye, Edward would have thought that his father actually cared.

"Dad, I need your help." Edward pleaded softly finally meeting his father's gaze.

"What do you expect me to do? Wave a wand and make it better? You fucked up. You insulted Isabella. She isn't willing to forgive as easy. Man up and do whatever the fuck you need to do and if you are lucky she will forgive you." Carlisle scuffed.

"She said she forgave me that night." Edward said childishly.

"She was sleeping." Carlisle laughed.

"Fuck!" Edward roared as he punched the wall. "Stop making a mockery out of this."

"Mockery?" Carlisle hissed in outrage. "Boy, this is your fuck up. Not mine."

"Well help me find a way out of this." Edward said coldly.

"Why should I?" Carlisle spat back.

"You were the one who caused this!" Edward said hurling a crystal glass at his father.

Smoothly ducking the crystal missile, Carlisle lunged at Edward, grabbing him by the neck and slamming him into the wall just as the glass shattered across the floor.

"One move, boy. Just make one make and I will end you right now. I will not be disrespected in my own home by my own son." Carlisle growled menacingly. "I have enough blood on my hand that will stain the sea red. I do not need my son's blood on my hand."

"Let go off me." Edward said calmly.

"So that you may still act like a child whose favourite toy got taken away?" Carlisle responded though the hold he had on Edward relaxed a bit.

Growling, Edward shoved his father a way to leave the room but Carlisle was not having any of that. Quickly, he grabbed Edward by the back of his shirt and threw him onto the couch in his office.

"You are going to figure this out now Edward. No more running away." Carlisle said soothingly.

"I remembered watching you and Elizabeth growing up and thinking that my parents were so in love. I remembered boasting to my classmates that my father would do anything for my mother and now I remember a marriage that was once so perfect, fell into disrepair and nothingness with the flip of a switch." Edward sighed as he looked towards his father but not truly seeing him. "Then Esme came into our lives and I saw all the gifts my father showered her with. My mother was still his wife. She knew their marriage was shaky but for her husband to do that to her, dishonour and disrespect her like that was torture. She would come into my room at night when she thought I was asleep and hold me while she cried. Did you know why she wore white all the time after that? In India, widows wear white on her husband's passing. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and killed herself. You married Esme six months later. I promised myself I would never do what you did, dad and as much as I love you I was still a boy when I walked in on my mother dead in her bath tub with her wrist slit."

"Esme is kind and accepted us and loved us as her own children but I had promised myself never to do what you did but I did. I hurt Tanya the same way you hurt mother."

"But your mother never hit you or abused you or left you without food. Tanya and your mother are two different people. I always regretted how things ended with your mother but Tanya was cruel and vile. In hindsight I should have not done the things I did. Maybe then you would still have your mother." Carlisle said softly as he felt the weight of his son's confession settle on his shoulders.

"I was a little boy. I shouldn't have had to deal with that." Edward said so softly.

"Son…" Carlisle started to say but Edward's voice stopped him yet again.

"I never loved Tanya but the relationship we had was comfortable. I never wanted to fall in love. I saw what love did. I'm a grown man now but I was a child then when it all went to hell. I need my father to tell me it will be alright; that I don't need to fear this as much as I do."

"Fear what son?" Carlisle asked softly, his own throat feeling uncomfortable tight as he saw the pain in his son's eyes.

"I need to know that it isn't wrong to be in love with Isabella. You all assume that I loved Tanya. I didn't. I love Isabella. I know about paternal love but this want I feel for Isabella is so foreign that I don't know what to do." And that was when the walls around Edward's heart crumbled and Carlisle saw his son. Not the Don but the child who would sit on his knee eating cookies that he had stolen from the jar while Elizabeth stared at them with a soft smile from the doorway.

"Love as pure as the love you share with the woman you love is never wrong." Carlisle sighed.

Carlisle stayed silent waiting on Edward's next move.

"Did you love my biological mother? Did you love Elizabeth?" Edward asked, stunning his father into silence.

"In the beginning, I did love your mother but after a while things changed. She changed and the marriage fell apart." Carlisle said softy.

"Where is Isabella?" Edward asked.

"In the library. Don't do anything rash Edward."

"I won't dad. I just want forgiveness." As the door closed behind Edward as he left, Esme finally surfaced from the secret room Carlisle had installed for her.

With tears in her own eyes, she fell into Carlisle's arms with a sob.

"What did we do?" Esme cried out. "How did we not see that we were hurting him? He was always Elizabeth's favourite."

As Esme's tears stained his shirt all Carlisle could think of was his son because even though Edward was a feared Don, he was still his son and while he would never admit it to anyone else, Edward was his favoured son. His golden prince.


End file.
